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UnitedHealth's Effort to Deny Coverage for a Patient's Care (2023)

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Re: UnitedHealth's Effort to Deny Coverage for a Patient's Care (2023)

#41

Post by ivraatiems »

ConspiracyFact wrote: post #2

Horrifying. But also horrifying that treatment costs so much. Supposedly we have to let drug companies charge extravagant prices because it costs so much to discover new treatments, but there has to be a great deal of inefficiency there. Are we getting a 99% solution for $X when we could be getting a 95% solution for $X/10?

The reason the treatment costs so much is in large part because of insurers aggressively pricing treatments down, forcing hospitals to respond by jacking prices up. It's a never-ending cycle. See e. g. https://www.fairobserver.com/economics/why-are-us-hospitals-...

The fix here would be to remove the middlemen (insurance companies) and pay hospitals what Medicare/Medicaid pay them, which is typically a much lower negotiated amount.

Re: UnitedHealth's Effort to Deny Coverage for a Patient's Care (2023)

#42

Post by Auracle »

readthenotes1 wrote: post #5
ConspiracyFact wrote: post #2

Horrifying. But also horrifying that treatment costs so much. Supposedly we have to let drug companies charge extravagant prices because it costs so much to discover new treatments, but there has to be a great deal of inefficiency there. Are we getting a 99% solution for $X when we could be getting a 95% solution for $X/10?

We have to let drug companies charge extravagant prices because of otherwise medical care costs would not be so high. Companies providing medical Care have to spend 80% of their costs on actual medical care, not marketing and executive compensation. The only way to make the 20% that really matter to the decision makers larger is to make the medical costs larger. It is one reason people on United healthcare get $100 g…

I believe it’s 85% for group plans.

I firmly believe that was a poison pill put in the ACA intended to drive prices up enough where people got so upset we end up with single payer. The alternative is that the people that penned the ACA have absolutely no understanding of economics, and I’m not sure which is worse.

The sad thing is for medications all it would take would be a simple bill that says that medications in the US will cost the average of Canada, Japan, The UK, and Germany (or whatever).

Re: UnitedHealth's Effort to Deny Coverage for a Patient's Care (2023)

#43

Post by bbqfog »

threemux wrote: post #37
griomnib wrote: post #6

No jury will convict the shooter, I suspect he’ll “resist arrest” and never make it to a court room for that reason.

Don't be so sure. It's interesting how quickly the places where this ghoulish view is proliferating (Reddit) have forgotten what they learned a month ago. The Internet is not reality and online posts are not a representative sample of the population. Instead, every survey of Americans shows around 80% are satisfied with their health coverage.

No, "every survey" doesn't suggest 80% of Americans are satisfied with their health coverage. Can you site this data? Every person I've ever met IRL has hated the health industry with a burning passion. As you would expect given the exorbitant prices on insurance and care. Also, no one enjoys having their employer hold so much leverage in their life as for most people health insurance is tied to their job.

Re: UnitedHealth's Effort to Deny Coverage for a Patient's Care (2023)

#44

Post by griomnib »

threemux wrote: post #37
griomnib wrote: post #6

No jury will convict the shooter, I suspect he’ll “resist arrest” and never make it to a court room for that reason.

Don't be so sure. It's interesting how quickly the places where this ghoulish view is proliferating (Reddit) have forgotten what they learned a month ago. The Internet is not reality and online posts are not a representative sample of the population. Instead, every survey of Americans shows around 80% are satisfied with their health coverage.

If they aren’t sick and haven’t had to use the system for life saving care, then the numbers from the same surveys you cite are VASTLY different.

Please don’t cherry pick misleading data.

Re: UnitedHealth's Effort to Deny Coverage for a Patient's Care (2023)

#46

Post by iwontberude »

threemux wrote: post #37
griomnib wrote: post #6

No jury will convict the shooter, I suspect he’ll “resist arrest” and never make it to a court room for that reason.

Don't be so sure. It's interesting how quickly the places where this ghoulish view is proliferating (Reddit) have forgotten what they learned a month ago. The Internet is not reality and online posts are not a representative sample of the population. Instead, every survey of Americans shows around 80% are satisfied with their health coverage.

Ghoulish? Internet? Have you spoken to regular people not terminally online? They have no sympathy for the CEO. I had sympathy for him as a human and a worker, but his behavior was beyond the pale and unfortunately rule of law doesn’t exist in the US.

Re: UnitedHealth's Effort to Deny Coverage for a Patient's Care (2023)

#47

Post by hipadev23 »

paulgb wrote: post #26
griomnib wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a New Yorker myself, I’m fairly confident.

I'm also a New Yorker and I think that most of us actually do not believe that assassinations are a net benefit to society, no matter how dissatisfied with the health care system we are.

I have a different viewpoint that when governance and the judicial systems fail time and time again to fix systemic problems, and the ultra wealthy and large corporations can literally do as they please, that violence is a very logical choice for those who seek retribution.

Re: UnitedHealth's Effort to Deny Coverage for a Patient's Care (2023)

#48

Post by 77pt77 »

Yeul wrote: post #33
Fizzadar wrote: post #12

It’s bullshit like this that makes me realise how lucky we are in countries that have public health care. Sure it has problems but private systems seem to have zero advantage for the average person. Pay more for less effectiveness AND a bunch of people get nothing.

There are people here on HN that no doubt make a lot of money working for Google. The idea that they are treated equally to a homeless man is not something they would want. It is no coincidence that universal healthcare was introduced during a time when the elite were recovering from WW2.

Most countries still have private medical care with insurance.

Those "elites" woiuld still get better treatment in the private sector.

I used quotes because SE at google are not really elites.

Re: UnitedHealth's Effort to Deny Coverage for a Patient's Care (2023)

#49

Post by Auracle »

Fizzadar wrote: post #12

It’s bullshit like this that makes me realise how lucky we are in countries that have public health care. Sure it has problems but private systems seem to have zero advantage for the average person. Pay more for less effectiveness AND a bunch of people get nothing.

I’ve been on two different medications that simply weren’t available to people in the UK.

I’ve also been to the Mayo Clinic quite a few times as just a standard appointment and any time you go there you’ll see people from other countries coming for better care than they can get.

Re: UnitedHealth's Effort to Deny Coverage for a Patient's Care (2023)

#50

Post by [deleted] »

Yeul wrote: post #33
Fizzadar wrote: post #12

It’s bullshit like this that makes me realise how lucky we are in countries that have public health care. Sure it has problems but private systems seem to have zero advantage for the average person. Pay more for less effectiveness AND a bunch of people get nothing.

There are people here on HN that no doubt make a lot of money working for Google. The idea that they are treated equally to a homeless man is not something they would want. It is no coincidence that universal healthcare was introduced during a time when the elite were recovering from WW2.

[deleted]
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