Healthcare Hypocricy?

[MoValley John]

wouldn't the logical thing to do is just increase the cost of your services +40%

We have a winner!!! That is exactly what happens. Except the govt. pays a flat fee based on averages in your area. So every hospital inflates everything so everybody can have a shot at breaking even. But the government won't be defrauded, so it is illegal to charge medicare/ medicaid a dime more than you do anyone else. So everybody is billed at the government rate, insurance companies then negotiate their discounts, not to be a dime less than the govt actually pays, somewhere just above where they would pay if the government didn't mess the whole billing thing up. The people that really get screwed are the self insured, they have no bargaining power at all and pay full freight.

After all of this b.s., the govt. hires auditors, as do the health care providers. On top of the auditors, compliance personnel are also hired, as well as coders and others. There is a huge layer of fat the provides zero healthcare, but only keeps everyone in compliance with medicare/medicaid. And we all pay for it.

This isn't a very thorough explanation, but its close. With that, some people believe these programs need to be expanded.

[Kung Wu]

We have a winner!!! That is exactly what happens. Except the govt. pays a flat fee based on averages in your area. So every hospital inflates everything so everybody can have a shot at breaking even. But the government won't be defrauded, so it is illegal to charge medicare/ medicaid a dime more than you do anyone else. So everybody is billed at the government rate, insurance companies then negotiate their discounts, not to be a dime less than the govt actually pays, somewhere just above where they would pay if the government didn't mess the whole billing thing up. The people that really get screwed are the self insured, they have no bargaining power at all and pay full freight.

After all of this b.s., the govt. hires auditors, as do the health care providers. On top of the auditors, compliance personnel are also hired, as well as coders and others. There is a huge layer of fat the provides zero healthcare, but only keeps everyone in compliance with medicare/medicaid. And we all pay for it.

This isn't a very thorough explanation, but its close. With that, some people believe these programs need to be expanded.

In 1982 a system of price controls based on the DRG classification system (Diagnosis-Related Group) were imposed on doctors. They are price caps for "products" (actual health care services, really). They essentially define what a doctor can charge Medicaid/Medicare patients for specific health services. And being that they are price controls, they have all the consequences of price controls. The only reasonable way for the doctors to stay afloat is to make up for the losses due to the DRG price controls by raising their rates on non-Medicaid/Medicare patients. The insurance companies aren't going to lose money though, so all of those privately insured people get their premiums raised.

[Kung Wu]

Price controls: Did you know the cost of health care has increased 4 times the CPI inflation rate since 1960 (before Medicaid/Medicare)? That's not all bad, because people are living 8 years longer and enjoy improved medical technologies (there are negative reasons for the massive 4x increase, but I will ignore those for now). However, did you know that the cost of private group insurance has increased 20 TIMES the CPI inflation rate over that same period?

If you are on private insurance (through your employment or individually), you have enjoyed skyrocketing increases in premiums due almost entirely to subsidizing failed Medicaid and Medicare price control policies.

[MoValley John]

Price controls: Did you know the cost of health care has increased 4 times the CPI inflation rate since 1960 (before Medicaid/Medicare)? That's not all bad, because people are living 8 years longer and enjoy improved medical technologies (there are negative reasons for the massive 4x increase, but I will ignore those for now). However, did you know that the cost of private group insurance has increased 20 TIMES the CPI inflation rate over that same period?

If you are on private insurance (through your employment or individually), you have enjoyed skyrocketing increases in premiums due almost entirely to subsidizing failed Medicaid and Medicare price control policies.

I mentioned medicare price controls and how they effected insurance costs many, many posts ago. I also opined on our expectations of healthcare on the aged, and how we as a country need to decide what our expectations of care is, as it relates to grandma.

In Europe, palliative care is the only option. Generally, because geriatrics are very expensive, grandma is ignored in "Single Payer" Europe.

The price controls associated with medicare, along with the escalation of regulatory costs of Medicare, is a huge cost buyrden. Liberals will not even discuss tort reform, and tort reform is also a concern of mine, but you cannot argue that Americans being five times more likely than Europeans to file a malpractice suit, has a huge impact. You need to look no further than afternoon or late night TV and watch the malpractice commercials to know it is a huge problem.

[RoyalShock]

I was in a jury pool for a malpractice suit. I didn't get picked but I heard enough to know it wasn't the doctor's fault the deceased geriatric patient did not take her prescribed meds. I felt bad for the widower but the doc didn't do it.

[ShockTalk]

http://www.upworthy.com/his-first-4-sentences-are-interesting-the-5th-blew-my-mind-and-made-me-a-little-sick-2?c=ufb3

Comments?

[wu_shizzle]

http://www.upworthy.com/his-first-4-...-sick-2?c=ufb3

Comments?

Comparing the US Healthcare market to ones in other countries will always look crazy. Americans spend more on Healthcare then the entire GDP of those countries cited. Also those countries are not even close to having the cultural and economic diversity that the United States has and are used to government control of education, healthcare and industry.

The American political class also likes to be the world's policeman, so the priority of budget dollars will be skewed heavily as well.

His points continue to get weaker when he says that Healthcare costs are not strongly related to Obesity and other Lifestyle choices. That's absolute bull, and of course unlike his other points uses no data to back that one up.

And the fact that more MRI's and CT scans are done in the US than anywhere else? It's risk/reward. If you have the technology available, and insurance will cover it, who's not going to do it?

We don't negotiate for cheap medical devices? Total Bull. But honestly, how many really want the cheapest replacement hip available?

So basically it's 7 minutes of some guy talking about how our current quasi-capitalist healthcare system makes healthcare cost more.

If you really want cheaper healthcare, find ways to increase the supply and reduce demand.

I'm guessing that isn't what people want to hear when they realize the ramifications.

[Downtown Shocker Brown]

Total bull is what you get from both sides on many arguments concerning healthcare. And neither side wants a solution. If there was a solution, it would make them talk about important things, like the economy. They find a topic that divides the population and you shout from one side while they shout from the other. All the while shaking hands, drinking scotch or fine wine, and enjoying their own healthcare that we are not allowed to have.

[Kung Wu]

Price Controls: Price controls cause shortages and reduce quality. A recent study showed that at clinics that accept children enrolled in either Medicaid or are privately insured, the average wait time for the Medicaid patient was 42 days while the average wait time for the privately insured child was 20 days. So what do Medicaid patients do? Why go to the emergency room of course, where they can get immediate treatment. And what do people do that have an actual emergency do? Well they get in the back of the line.

Another data point: Medicare reimbursement for a 15 minute visit to a doctor in a clinic? $58. 15 minutes with the same doctor in a hospital? $99.

[1979Shocker]

Hackers: HealthCare.gov still riddled with potential security issues

http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/hackers-healthcare-gov-still-riddled-potential-security-issues-2D11940198

Cybersecurity researchers slammed HealthCare.gov's security during a House hearing on Thursday morning, saying the site is still riddled with problems that could put consumers' sensitive health details at risk.

“The reason we’re concluding that this is so shockingly bad is that the issues across the site are so varied,” David Kennedy, founder of the information security firm TrustedSec, told NBC News. “You don’t even have to hack into the system to see big issues – which means there are [major problems] underneath.”

Kennedy was the first of a group of so-called "white-hat hackers" who testified before the House of Representatives Science Committee on Thursday. He previously appeared before the committee on November 19, when he said he was able to identify 18 major issues with the site – without even hacking into it.