For those of you who prefer the existing heakth care system

Just read it. click on the link to see the actual hospital bill.

http://www.viralnova.com/hospital-bill/

Then tell me the US health care delivery system didn't need fixing.


Some Guy Posted His Hospital Bill Online. You’ll See Why Everyone’s Talking About It

December 29, 2013Stories
A 20 year-old man came down with appendicitis in October of this year. He posted the bill on Reddit and it has gone viral. The US Health Care system is a topic of much debate, not only in the US but around the world. A lot of countries get ‘free’ health care, so needless to say, this has stirred up a lot of conversation.

As if waking up in excruciating pain isn’t enough, this is the bill he received in the mail a couple months later. Take a look:

The original cost was over $55,000. Because the 20 year-old man was on his father’s insurance, the cost was lowered to $11,000.

Which is still an obscenely high bill to pay for such a young man. He was in the Recovery Room for 2 hours and it cost him $7,500.

The actual surgery cost $16,000.

This bill caused quite an uproar. A lot of citizens of other countries chimed in with their own experiences.

An Australian with appendicitis never even saw a bill.

A Canadian’s mother had foot surgery and her only charge was $60…for cable.

A Malaysian paid the equivalent of $25 for an appendectomy.

And then other Americans gave their two cents (or hundreds of thousands of dollars):

This American got cancer and had to file for bankruptcy. At age 24.

His cousin died because he had reached his “lifetime limit” for treatment. He was 27.

LOL... Bub

Outrageous...I agree, everyone here will.
How does Obamacare fix this, serious discussion for a change.

Just read it. click on the link to see the actual hospital bill. Originally Posted by Yssup Rider

That would presume that the knuckle draggers who are against the PPACA can actually read or would give a shit if they could.

To them it doesn't matter that Teddy Roosevelt first called for something to be done about universal healthcare, then Eisenhower and also Nixon addressed Congress in 1973 calling for universal healthcare insurance. Then, when it looked like the Clintons were going to try to pass something close to a single payer system (the kind that works pretty well in most other advance industrialized nations) the Heritage Foundation conceived the individual mandate and paired it with insurance exchanges which is where RomneyCare came from and the basis upon which the PPACA was based. None of that matters, but now about 1.1 million people are signed up and several hundred thousand more are covered by the extension of Medicaid so while PPACA could have been much better if conservatives and Republicans had not fought it every inch of the way (lying as they went), it will succeed and cover a lot more Americans and few will be able to deny it is working and helping both people and the economy (though not nearly as much as it could have if Republicans had helped make it better as Dems did with Medicare Part D).

Just wait until Summer and anyone who was against it and it reasonable and cares at all about facts or their fellow Americans will be resigned to it. The others will still be against it just as they are against anything to address climate change or civil rights or even voting rights. It is sad but true.

Outrageous...I agree, everyone here will.
How does Obamacare fix this, serious discussion for a change. Originally Posted by Chica Chaser

No, everyone won't, but everyone who is patriotic or reasonable (worth a damn) will.

Obamacare has provisions for making the hospital charge masters public and dealing with over and double or triple charging. Plus, when almost everybody is covered, there will be far fewer of the ridiculous charges.

The good part is that healthcare costs have risen at about 15% average each year for the last 10 years until the last two years when they have slowed down to around 1%. This is vast improvement and cannot all be attributed to PPACA, but a good deal of it can and also to the attention on healthcare costs brought about just by passing PPACA.

My brother's wife cut her heel and had to go to emergence and then get operated on because it cut a ligament. She didn't have her insurance card so the initial bill was over $35,000. After insurance it was $11,000 for emergency room and operation, but their share was about $4000, however the bill the insurance company actually paid was about $7000 minus the $4K my brother paid.

Here is an article, Bitter Pill, that Time ran in early 2013 exposing this - http://livingwithmcl.com/BitterPill.pdf

The hospitals and doctors often double and triple charge without even knowing it and they have no idea why their charges are what they are (this is why the charge master has the prices it has). Criminal.

He followed up his article with how the Administration is so far bungling implementation of the PPACA as far as these types of charges - http://content.time.com/time/magazin...159286,00.html

Enjoy!

I don't subscribe to FuckZup but I saw something about a bill. I went into the hospital almost three years ago to the day for emergency appendicitis surgery. I was in there for a week. The bill was $55,000, I paid my deductible of $2,500. It covered the ambulance, the room, the surgery, the recovery, the MRI, the etc. Today me new insurance policy which starts January 1st, my deductible is $5,000 (thank you Big O) and my weekly payment went about 18% for the same coverage...well, not quite the same coverage. I now have Ob-gyn and pediatric dental added on. New year the small business mandate kicks in and then we'll see some excitement.

Hey asshole, read the article and then explain why a health care system that allowed the hospital to charge you $55,000 for an appendectomy doesn't need fixing?

Your post indicated that you think the $2,500 deductible was all it cost and cried because your deductible went up to $5,000 under your new, legal policy. What happened to the other $52,500?

The issue here isn't your unwillingness to shoulder the burden but a health care system that enables hospitals and insurance companies to steal.

Obamacare, IMHO, will bring those costs down through greater accountability from providers and insurance companies. When the cost of care comes down the delivery system will be more efficient.

This is typical of the health care debate. Deniers and criers. if we want to reign it in, we should go to single payer. period.

But all JD sees is his deductible.

Big surprise.

Hey asshole, read the article and then explain why a health care system that allowed the hospital to charge you $55,000 for an appendectomy doesn't need fixing?

Your post indicated that you think the $2,500 deductible was all it cost and cried because your deductible went up to $5,000 under your new, legal policy. What happened to the other $52,500?

The issue here isn't your unwillingness to shoulder the burden but a health care system that enables hospitals and insurance companies to steal.

Obamacare, IMHO, will bring those costs down through greater accountability from providers and insurance companies. When the cost of care comes down the delivery system will be more efficient.

This is typical of the health care debate. Deniers and criers. if we want to reign it in, we should go to single payer. period.

But all JD sees is his deductible.

Big surprise. Originally Posted by Yssup Rider

Single Payer will be the next step in Healthcare. I bet we see a single payer system as early as 2020. Any system can be implemented and be beneficial. It will work only as good as the Government wants it to work. Being that we have criminals in Government and their track record leaves a lot to be desired, being skeptical of a new plan or idea is not an unhealthy attitude.

Jim

No, everyone won't, but everyone who is patriotic or reasonable (worth a damn) will.

Obamacare has provisions for making the hospital charge masters public and dealing with over and double or triple charging. Plus, when almost everybody is covered, there will be far fewer of the ridiculous charges.

The good part is that healthcare costs have risen at about 15% average each year for the last 10 years until the last two years when they have slowed down to around 1%. This is vast improvement and cannot all be attributed to PPACA, but a good deal of it can and also to the attention on healthcare costs brought about just by passing PPACA.

My brother's wife cut her heel and had to go to emergence and then get operated on because it cut a ligament. She didn't have her insurance card so the initial bill was over $35,000. After insurance it was $11,000 for emergency room and operation, but their share was about $4000, however the bill the insurance company actually paid was about $7000 minus the $4K my brother paid.

Here is an article, Bitter Pill, that Time ran in early 2013 exposing this - http://livingwithmcl.com/BitterPill.pdf

The hospitals and doctors often double and triple charge without even knowing it and they have no idea why their charges are what they are (this is why the charge master has the prices it has). Criminal.

He followed up his article with how the Administration is so far bungling implementation of the PPACA as far as these types of charges - http://content.time.com/time/magazin...159286,00.html

Enjoy! Originally Posted by austxjr

not too long ago I posted the costs of a broken leg/emergency room with and without insurance ... the difference was pretty much the same as your case ... those little white paper cup pill holders the nurse hands you costs you $9.00 each.

not really sure why so many people are against ACA ... but if they really want crappy insurance why argue with them ?

LOL... Bub Originally Posted by IIFFOFRDB

Apparently someone thinks this is a funny topic.

not too long ago I posted the costs of a broken leg/emergency room with and without insurance ... the difference was pretty much the same as your case ... those little white paper cup pill holders the nurse hands you costs you $9.00 each.

not really sure why so many people are against ACA ... but if they really want crappy insurance why argue with them ? Originally Posted by CJ7

The best way to get health insurance costs under control is to get health care costs under control.

Some doctors/specialists make more, some make less. Pharmaceutical companies aren't allowed to rape the national systems. Hospitals aren't either. The wealthy aren't effected.

Everybody's covered yet somehow these countries spend far less per capital than the US does with its current fucked up system.

Obamacare is the first step, but it's only a watered down version (thanks to "negotiation") of what's needed to get this runaway train under control.

If it had been there all along, the whiners wouldn't be squealing about their liberty. It wouldn't even be a discussion.

Today me new insurance policy which starts January 1st, my deductible is $5,000 (thank you Big O) and my weekly payment went about 18% for the same coverage...well, not quite the same coverage. Originally Posted by JD Barleycorn

Curious how the increased cost is due to Obama?

JD's so stupid he doesn't know he's stupid..

No, everyone won't, but everyone who is patriotic or reasonable (worth a damn) will. Originally Posted by austxjr

Why don't you throw in "not a racist" in your bullshit list?

And then give me the section number of the provision in the ACA that requires providers to reduce charges and/or "causes" the reduction.

When I had emergency surgery for my ruptured appendix, which included weeks in intensive care with months of follow ups .

..... it cost me about $1,500 TOTAL ... about 12 plus years ago.

Make excuses all you want .. and fish for justifications ..... to support the Fraudulent President's failing "program" and presidency.

You are trying to save the Titanic with a soup spoon.

Curious how the increased cost is due to Obama? Originally Posted by Submodo

It's called "hedging" .... it's been done for years with Medicaid and Medicare.

To create an "experience rate" for charges the providers artificially raise their rates the year before to apply for higher rates next year and they "bundle" billing codes on top of that.

The are gouging in anticipation of decreased insurance coverage in the future.....

... the carriers know it and the providers know it.

There will be fewer people with private insurance and more people on Medicare/Medicaid.

The "costs" of health care will go down, because the services will be restricted and lower "cost" physicians will be "approved" for coverage.

You will have to pick from your "network" of "selected" physicians, facilities, and pharmacies with generics.

BTW:

How's the ACA covering the costs of the brain-dead girl who is being maintained on life support by the hospital pursuant to court orders?