81–90 of 122 posts
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Medicare for all would easily bankrupt hospitals. The money needs to come from somewhere. Either force people to buy insurance or raise taxes massively. Pick your poison.
Another possibility is to reduce the cost of care.
[1] https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2018/03/u-s-pays-more...
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Firing all of those billing specialists and insurance people would save a LOT of money.
They are nevertheless a small part of the total bill.
[1] https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2018/03/u-s-pays-more...
Help (potential) patients compare approximate total prices of different hospitals based on the patient’s conditions, diagnoses, insurance plans (or lack thereof), personal health profile, etc.
Display info as tables and charts in a user-friendly manner. Give users the option to drill down to see details. Update estimates as more information is known (e.g. after lab results come in).
Support what-if scenarios for cases which diagnoses are still unclear.
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literally every other country has "death panels" in which they deny care based on cost/benefit ratio. In America, everyone gets every treatment; we have the best cancer survival rates, but we pay for it. 90% of all health Care spending is spent on people within the last two years of their life: because in America we try to keep people alive for as long as possible. They have different goals in Europe. There's a reaso…
> literally every other country has "death panels" Source? This term was invented by Sarah Palin and was judged 2009’s Lie of the Year by PolitiFact.[1] > In America, everyone gets every treatment You have no idea what you’re taking about. There are 28 million uninsured Americans and millions more who are unable to afford treatment due to high deductibles.[2] You cherry-picked one statistic, but overall the U.S. has…
When pondering death panels, it helps to start with a bit of William Shakespeare:
What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other word would smell as sweet
Also, treatment delayed is treatment denied. If we promise the world, but we decide that we will only fund enough treatment for X patients per year, then treatment is getting denied if there are more than X patients per year. We might never say "NO" to anybody, but not everybody makes it to the front of the waiting list. Some die while waiting.
It isn't reasonable to simply assume that the USA wouldn't have problems found in the UK. The UK does in fact deny treatment. Worse yet, they have a history of giving up and then using the legal system to block people from attempting to get care in other countries.
This is very exciting to me. I have been wanting this for a long time, and I belive it's a small step towards improving the healthcare system in the United States. It shouldn't matter these aren't he "real" prices, as so many folks have been quick to point out. But it's the starting point for what ever you think the "real" price is, and it's information that has never been easily accessible to the public until now. A…
One hospital that I use immediately takes 48% off the bill if you are uninsured without even being requested. As indicated elsewhere in this thread, this is not generally the non-insured price. I'm afraid it is mostly irrelevant, but it is definitely the first step in the right direction. As somebody else said, it's more important to find out what real people ended up paying for a procedure after it was all said and…
Is there a bill-sharing website to cure this information from people voluntarily? Maybe someone on HN would want to start one up? Or would people be too reluctant to share details of procedures?
This is very exciting to me. I have been wanting this for a long time, and I belive it's a small step towards improving the healthcare system in the United States. It shouldn't matter these aren't he "real" prices, as so many folks have been quick to point out. But it's the starting point for what ever you think the "real" price is, and it's information that has never been easily accessible to the public until now. A…
One hospital that I use immediately takes 48% off the bill if you are uninsured without even being requested. As indicated elsewhere in this thread, this is not generally the non-insured price. I'm afraid it is mostly irrelevant, but it is definitely the first step in the right direction. As somebody else said, it's more important to find out what real people ended up paying for a procedure after it was all said and…
This has made me wonder what the point of these high prices are if no one ever pays them. My guess has always been that it has something to do with tax write-offs for the services that they never recoup.
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One hospital that I use immediately takes 48% off the bill if you are uninsured without even being requested. As indicated elsewhere in this thread, this is not generally the non-insured price. I'm afraid it is mostly irrelevant, but it is definitely the first step in the right direction. As somebody else said, it's more important to find out what real people ended up paying for a procedure after it was all said and…
This has been my experience as well. The one time I had to go to the hospital while uninsured, while in-between jobs, they immediately tried to negotiate a settlement with me. This has made me wonder what the point of these high prices are if no one ever pays them. My guess has always been that it has something to do with tax write-offs for the services that they never recoup.
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I am talking about actual Medicare, which causes big losses for hospitals. Those need to be covered, that is my point. You can not just import other nations healthcare systems. Those are cheaper because the doctors and nurses earn less and the service is worse.
You don’t cite any evidence to support your claim. Most U.S. doctors graduate with >$100K in medical education debt. Other countries have better health outcomes, so that pretty much kills your “worse service” claim. Rob Delaney is a great example of an American who experienced both US and U.K. systems in depth. Look him up.
You posted a source yourself:
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2018/03/u-s-pays-more...
Salaries are almost twice as high. Those other countries also tend to have higher taxes and other salary deductions, so doctors earn less.
> Other countries have better health outcomes, so that pretty much kills your “worse service” claim.
No it doesn't. Not every US citizen actually receives the service, because they want to (or have to) save money, kicking the problem down the road, exacerbating the issue. Americans also tend to be more obese.
You call the "cancer survival" rate a cherry pick, but it's actually a good indicator how good the actual treatment is and how timely it is administered.
> Rob Delaney is a great example...
One guy's opinion isn't "evidence" either. I could give you individual health care horror stories from single payer countries, but that would be emotional manipulation.
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They are nevertheless a small part of the total bill.
Nope. They’re 8% of the bill, several times higher than countries with Medicare For All type systems.[1] [1] https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2018/03/u-s-pays-more...
Either way, whether it is 2% or 8% the bill will be astronomical. You would have to cut health care worker's salaries significantly to make a big dent in it. I'm not saying that shouldn't happen, but you better own up to it.
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Literally every other industrialized country has a Medicare For All type system and somehow the hospitals manage to stay open. And you can’t mention a tax increase without mentioning the savings of not having to pay for private insurance.
I am talking about actual Medicare, which causes big losses for hospitals. Those need to be covered, that is my point. You can not just import other nations healthcare systems. Those are cheaper because the doctors and nurses earn less and the service is worse.