If having a car was a matter of life and death, you would soon find that mechanics would be charging hundreds if not thousands of dollars just to tell you what was wrong with your car. Hospitals and doctors have the American people by the balls. Most of the time when we seek their help, we are in pain or worse. We don't have a choice. Sure, you can pick a different hospital or doctor, but they are all charging about the same. MRI's, CAT scans and other procedures that have been around for 20+ years haven't dropped in price that much, as a matter of fact most have gone up in price. It's gouging on an epic scale. No other industry in the world charges that much for 20-30 year old technology.
I'm not sure how you fix the problem, but i can tell you that the current system does not work. I hear pundits all the time, mostly on the conservative talk radio ( Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Fox News), say that the United States has the best health care in the world. They might be right about that. What they don't do is finish that sentence.......it should finish with "that money can buy". When going to the emergency room can cost more than a person makes in two weeks or a month, something is wrong. When a 2 mile trip in an ambulance can run over $400, something is wrong. When a single night for a hospital room can cost more than a 5 star hotel and the tab in the restaurant in the lobby, something is very wrong.
I can see a few things that could be changed to help. First, you have got to do something about litigation. There has to be some limits put on the amount of money spent on law suits and insurance to protect doctors and hospitals. First put a cap on the settlement amount. That will get a lot of people mad.....what if i am messed up for life?? How can you put a number on a life??? I can't and i don't think anyone can..including a jury or a judge. How about this? If you do end up with a chronic problem because of a mess up of the doctor or hospital....they have to give you free care for that problem for life? Part of the problem solved. Next thing you do with litigation, if you file a suit and lose....you pay all the court and lawyer fees for the winner. Make that for all suits of any kind. That should get rid of some of the stupid lawsuits.
Second thing you can do is make it against the law to charge more than retail for items, the patient can buy in the open market....no more $5 Tylenols...$2 glasses of ice cubes and they should just give you the pitcher,cup puke pan combo.......they don't seem to even go that fast in the free box at a yard sale. Other than those little steps to curb the cost....i really don't really have the "Big Fix". There will always be someone that takes advantage of someone in pain. Lets face it....some people are just greedy, selfish and despicable.
Back to the national level....Oboma and congress got it wrong. I do think that some of the things in the health care bill might help...but requiring me to buy health insurance that i couldn't afford before the bill??? What kind of dumb ass idea is that??? HEY you IDIOTS in washington....you ever hear of the saying you can't get blood from a turnip??? And stop using the 50 million americans don't have health insurance number. Most of those 50 mil are between the ages of 18-30 and most could care less. When I was 21, health insurance was not at the top of my needs list. Hell most people in that age group still have the "I'm Invincible" syndrome. Stop worrying about 18 to about 30 or so....they don't really need you telling what they want....hell the ones in the younger part of that group are just finding out that their parents weren't stupid and did have some good advice and ideas. The ones in the older section are just starting to figure out what they really want out of life......or at least starting to point in the right direction. Health insurance still isn't on the top of their "need" list. Worry about parents, worry about those of us between the ages of 35 and 65. We are the group that actually want some way to pay for health care. Worry about the poor, who can't afford basic health care. Worry about states that won't give out assistance to anyone making over $300 a month...$300 a month.....hell that won't even pay the rent on a place to live...and some state governments think that is a cut off number for medicaid???? You have got to be kidding me??
If you want to socialize medicine and spend a butt load of money while you do it.....could you at least do it for the right people for the right reasons???? duh? Lower the age for Medicare to 50 and raise the income level for Medicaid to the Nation poverty level. You want a big bureaucracy too? Make a national panel that releases the names of doctors and hospitals that over charge the consumer. Pass out tax breaks to those that don't. Give doctors and hospitals some incentive to stop making money off of peoples suffering, pain and fear. We all know they won't do it out of the kindness of their hearts, because they haven't done it yet.
Will these ideas fix the health care problem?? Most likely.....no, But it should be a good start. Are there other ideas that need to be tried...yes i am sure that there are. I do know one thing for sure, that a bunch of people in Washington DC, that haven't had to pay a medical bill in years, couldn't tell you the price of a gallon of milk, or most things without asking an aide. They couldn't possible have a clue on how to fix it. Which reminds me of the biggest thing that needs to be done.......all government employees, including congress's health benefits should be Medicare or Medicaid. Not sure how you decide which, but they should be spread out evenly somehow. This will give them a vested interest in giving a crap about the quality of care.....which they don't have now and it shows.
Financial ruin from medical bills is almost exclusively an American disease. ~Roul Turley
It is not a case we are treating; it is a living, palpitating, alas, too often suffering fellow creature. ~John Brown
The Smurph
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