Healthcare

Definitely seeing a significant switch in favor of nationalized universal health care.

Bill Handel, is a lawyer and center-right radio host on KFI in Los Angeles. Just yesterday he was defending Trump's tariff on Mexico for immigration. Today he was saying that he thinks nationalized universal health care is the only realistic and viable way to move forward. He literally said "I thought I would get a sex change operation before I agreed with Bernie Sanders but Bernie is right about health care". He then said some of his friends object and say "but America has the best health care in the world" and Handel's response was basically 'yeah if you are rich'.

So here is a center-right talk radio host who 100% supports Trump on immigration but 100% agrees with Bernie that we need nationalized health care. If a Democrat running in the primary is not willing to plant their flag and fight for nationalized health care, then they cannot be the nominee and do not deserve a vote.
 
oneniltothearsenal said:
Definitely seeing a significant switch in favor of nationalized universal health care.

Bill Handel, is a lawyer and center-right radio host on KFI in Los Angeles. Just yesterday he was defending Trump's tariff on Mexico for immigration. Today he was saying that he thinks nationalized universal health care is the only realistic and viable way to move forward. He literally said "I thought I would get a sex change operation before I agreed with Bernie Sanders but Bernie is right about health care". He then said some of his friends object and say "but America has the best health care in the world" and Handel's response was basically 'yeah if you are rich'.

So here is a center-right talk radio host who 100% supports Trump on immigration but 100% agrees with Bernie that we need nationalized health care. If a Democrat running in the primary is not willing to plant their flag and fight for nationalized health care, then they cannot be the nominee and do not deserve a vote.
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Been saying that.

Currently only Bernie and Warren qualify to be president.
 
I went to the doctor about 6 weeks ago for an annual checkup and I got a referral to a dermatologist since I am at increased risk of skin cancer. the dermatologist removed one mole that took all of 10 minutes to diagnose and biopsy. everything came back negative and I'm healthy so that's fine. Got a letter in the mail today informing me that the total billed charges were $900, the insurance company is only paying $150 and somehow I'm on the hook for $470. all this for a plan through my employer which costs me $200 per month.

i would be so mad if some politician took that away from me in exchange for healthcare that was free at the point of service and covered everyone.

oh and that $470 I owe is to 5 different entities so I have to go on 5 different websites to pay each portion of the $470.
 
Eboue said:
I went to the doctor about 6 weeks ago for an annual checkup and I got a referral to a dermatologist since I am at increased risk of skin cancer. the dermatologist removed one mole that took all of 10 minutes to diagnose and biopsy. everything came back negative and I'm healthy so that's fine. Got a letter in the mail today informing me that the total billed charges were $900, the insurance company is only paying $150 and somehow I'm on the hook for $470. all this for a plan through my employer which costs me $200 per month.

i would be so mad if some politician took that away from me in exchange for healthcare that was free at the point of service and covered everyone.

oh and that $470 I owe is to 5 different entities so I have to go on 5 different websites to pay each portion of the $470.
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Who's paying the other $280 then? Maths > math every time.
 
Eboue said:
Who knows? It's a byzantine system designed to keep people in the dark and to make them so frustrated that they just give up and pay.
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Sorry to be arsey. Looked at another way, if someone semi-clued up on life like yourself can't figure it out then what chance do those with poor education, learning difficulties, language difficulties or given the the situation maybe just they're very bleeding ill have? They're no more than fodder for the rich to feed on, and right at the time they need help the most.
 
711 said:
Sorry to be arsey. Looked at another way, if someone semi-clued up on life like yourself can't figure it out then what chance do those with poor education, learning difficulties, language difficulties or given the the situation maybe just they're very bleeding ill have? They're no more than fodder for the rich to feed on, and right at the time they need help the most.
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of course. thats exactly what they do. its not uncommon to call these leeches and say you cant afford that much and they cut your bill quite a bit. these services arent priced in any relation to what it costs to perform them, its strictly about money.
 
Eboue said:
I went to the doctor about 6 weeks ago for an annual checkup and I got a referral to a dermatologist since I am at increased risk of skin cancer. the dermatologist removed one mole that took all of 10 minutes to diagnose and biopsy. everything came back negative and I'm healthy so that's fine. Got a letter in the mail today informing me that the total billed charges were $900, the insurance company is only paying $150 and somehow I'm on the hook for $470. all this for a plan through my employer which costs me $200 per month.

i would be so mad if some politician took that away from me in exchange for healthcare that was free at the point of service and covered everyone.

oh and that $470 I owe is to 5 different entities so I have to go on 5 different websites to pay each portion of the $470.
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That's pretty crazy. I currently work in dermatology in the NHS and here is how it works here . You go to your GP with a mole that you are worried about ( getting a GP appointment can be a pain but still gettable in a week in most places) . GP checks you out and in most cases he refers to dermatology on a 2 week basis because it's a possible cancer . Dermatology sees you in 2-4 weeks and if they think that mole looks suspicious they remove it in another couple of weeks . Total cost - 0 . Of course it can be an absolute pain for non cancer stuff but I am pretty sure it's clear which one is better. Also it's not really zero because you pay national insurance charges but you would get this even without paying
 
Ayush_reddevil said:
That's pretty crazy. I currently work in dermatology in the NHS and here is how it works here . You go to your GP with a mole that you are worried about ( getting a GP appointment can be a pain but still gettable in a week in most places) . GP checks you out and in most cases he refers to dermatology on a 2 week basis because it's a possible cancer . Dermatology sees you in 2-4 weeks and if they think that mole looks suspicious they remove it in another couple of weeks . Total cost - 0 . Of course it can be an absolute pain for non cancer stuff but I am pretty sure it's clear which one is better
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Oh I should mention that I moved here in August and I called one group with about 12 general practitioners and I tried to get an appointment with any doctor since I didnt have one for just an annual checkup in March. They told me their first available appointment was August. I called their competitor and they got me in much sooner, only 5 weeks after my call to schedule.
 
https://www.fidelity.com/viewpoints/retirement/understanding-medicare-options?ccsource=email_weekly

Clear as mud.
I haven't the patience to go through all of this at the moment (I don't have to as I don't retire for about 7 years or so) to find out how much I'd have to pay if I retired in this country.
It might be easier to feck off back to Europe and pay private there.

At 1st glance though Medicare A would be "free" for me & my wife. But it looks like there are so many things it doesn't cover...
 
Red Dreams said:
The 70% represents the success of media disinformation.

Gotta love it.
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Either that or a lack of information in general since most people are busy working and don't spend much time (if at all) glued to Twitter or cable news.
 
I remember telling a US friend what a family member was getting in Spain as standard prescription insulin (a fast blend and a slow blend with dial-a-dose systems). She reacted like we'd said we'd just had our yacht gold-plated - it was so far off what she could afford. To Europeans it's almost unimaginable that a diabetic can't afford insulin, in the US it just seems to provoke a "that's your problem - business is business" response.
 
arnie_ni said:
Why does one pharma company not just cut prices and clean up the market and sales
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Everyone else would (have to) follow suit, and they would all make less money. It's why Tobacco companies actually made more money after many types of tobacco advertising were banned, because everyone was still on an even playing-ground, except now they didn't have to spend so much money. Of course, they undoubtedly still lost out in the long run.
 
McKinsey Advised Johnson & Johnson on Increasing Opioid Sales

"One lawsuit stated that McKinsey advised a pharmaceutical company to “get more patients on higher doses of opioids” and study techniques “for keeping patients on opioids longer.”

merlin_157987101_82563811-1911-433f-95f5-8f5238ee4b64-jumbo.jpg


https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/25/business/mckinsey-johnson-and-johnson-opioids.html
 
I've just spent the last 80 mins on the phone with my health insurance company trying to figure out which of the many bills I have that I actually owe.
Turns out it's most as I hadn't met the $5,000 annual family plan deductible yet.
So, with my great insurance I still owe $5,000 for my kids various medical issues.
On the plus side after I pay that I'm good to go for 2019. Then it starts all over again on Jan 1st....

One interesting titbit: my daughter required hospitalization for 3 days back in April (no operations or anything); supposedly the bill was $18,000 but the insurance company negotiated it down to $6,200 so that's what they paid. Such a racket!

So, when are we getting UHC again?
 
utdalltheway said:
I've just spent the last 80 mins on the phone with my health insurance company trying to figure out which of the many bills I have that I actually owe.
Turns out it's most as I hadn't met the $5,000 annual family plan deductible yet.
So, with my great insurance I still owe $5,000 for my kids various medical issues.
On the plus side after I pay that I'm good to go for 2019. Then it starts all over again on Jan 1st....

One interesting titbit: my daughter required hospitalization for 3 days back in April (no operations or anything); supposedly the bill was $18,000 but the insurance company negotiated it down to $6,200 so that's what they paid. Such a racket!

So, when are we getting UHC again?
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Don’t you know? You actually want to keep that bullshit.
 
Me, keep the current system? Feck no!
It’s BS!
Meanwhile my mother in law is in hospital in NorCal, getting great care I should add, for about 9 days now. She’s going to need on going treatment too (chemo, etc).
Hopefully she has good insurance. She’s almost 80 so qualifies for Medicare but it’ll be interesting to see how that all pans out.
She’ll either be fine, or it’ll really deplete her funds. Luckily she has money, for now.
 
utdalltheway said:
Me, keep the current system? Feck no!
It’s BS!
Meanwhile my mother in law is in hospital in NorCal, getting great care I should add, for about 9 days now. She’s going to need on going treatment too (chemo, etc).
Hopefully she has good insurance. She’s almost 80 so qualifies for Medicare but it’ll be interesting to see how that all pans out.
She’ll either be fine, or it’ll really deplete her funds. Luckily she has money, for now.
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Medicare should cover your mother in law pretty much.
 
Any country that doesn’t treat healthcare as a public necessity, on par with education, transport and emergency service, doesn’t deserve to call itself a civilised nation. No ifs or buts.
 
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George Owen said:
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-care/first-kidney-failure-then-540-842-bill-dialysis-n1034496

First kidney failure, then a $540,842 bill for dialysis
The bill was more than the typical cost of a kidney transplant.
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This is personal to me. Thankfully I’ve got my medicare covering for me but I see those same initial costs on billing statements. The nerve of these companies to complain they don’t make enough money when their profits are in the billions.
 
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