...I don't think so, Eric. Maybe I'm not understanding your point. But there were no subsidies for health care prior to the aca...

 

What do you think Medicaid is? Do you really think premiums pay for Medicare?

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“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato

You do realize that the regulation free, free market trends towards monopolies and collusion, no? That means little to no competition. Hence why I mentioned those two things. You can't have zero regulation. 

 

Again with the "zero regulation" bit? Did we have monopolies before CMS took over health care?

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“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato

Again with the "zero regulation" bit? Did we have monopolies before CMS took over health care?

 

That's not what you guys want? No regulation of business of any kind?

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My original link showed healthcare is cheaper in every country with "socialised care " per person than the US with overall better outcomes. I won't deny if you are a billionaire that US healthcare is best in the world...


Why do private companies make things cheaper while taking money out to shareholders?


Either they pay awful wages, don't maintain things properly (electricity rail etc) Outsource things to cheaper countries etc etc.


Actually on rail, in the UK a line went back into public hands and it became best performing line in the country and delivered surpluses back into government hands...What an awful result

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Hard to argue the facts.  Our system flat out sucks.  Sucked before Obamacare and sucks now.  We pay more as a percentage of health care to GDP than any country in the world.  Hard to argue private medicine is the way to go and socialized or single payer has shown to be cheaper over and over again.  At some point you have to look at the facts and start questioning what you believe.

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No, all government intervention is bad. I like over paying to private companies instead. Fox news tells me I'd rather be dead than red...

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You do realize that competition creates price controls, no? Artificial parameters to any market distort the natural control mechanisms and the cost in health care because of government intervention are astounding.

 

You can't create competition for emergency medical services. If you break your neck, you can't shop around for the best deal.

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If something can corrupt you, you're corrupted already.
- Bob Marley


 

You can't create competition for emergency medical services. If you break your neck, you can't shop around for the best deal.

That's true, EMS is a legitimate public service as are fire departments, police and public defenders.

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“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato

What do you think Medicaid is? Do you really think premiums pay for Medicare?

 

There's a difference though, about who qualifies for Medicaid V. what the subsidies are in regards to ACA...  

 

The ACA isn't focused on the elderaly, single moms, and the disabled...  It focuses on the entire population of low income Americans...  But I have a feeling you already knew that...

 

<p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:'Open Sans', sans-serif;font-size:16px;">"Medicaid and CHIP provide free or low-cost health coverage to millions of Americans, including some low-income people, families and children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with disabilities. Both programs are run jointly by federal and state governments, and details vary somewhat between states.

<p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:'Open Sans', sans-serif;font-size:16px;">You qualify for these programs based on your household size, income, and other factors, like age and disability. When you fill out your application you’ll find out if you and your family qualify."  https://www.healthcare.gov/medicaid-chip...caid-chip/

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There's a difference though, about who qualifies for Medicaid V. what the subsidies are in regards to ACA...


The ACA isn't focused on the elderaly, single moms, and the disabled... It focuses on the entire population of low income Americans... But I have a feeling you already knew that...


"Medicaid and CHIP provide free or low-cost health coverage to millions of Americans, including some low-income people, families and children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with disabilities. Both programs are run jointly by federal and state governments, and details vary somewhat between states.

You qualify for these programs based on your household size, income, and other factors, like age and disability. When you fill out your application you’ll find out if you and your family qualify." <a class="bbc_url" href='https://www.healthcare.gov/medicaid-chip/getting-medicaid-chip/'>https://www.healthcare.gov/medicaid-chip/getting-medicaid-chip/</a>

So the only difference is the size of the subsidy.

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“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato

So the only difference is the size of the subsidy.

Size is not accurate enough. The difference is the population it affects... which is an important distinction.

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Wow, a follow up for a visit related to a failure to thrive is not a wellness visit or preventative service, it's an acute visit. Sounds like your insurance company is playing games or your physician did some unusual coding of the visit. Do you have a deductible-based plan?

Sorry for the late reply, and I'll try to answer this one well enough to maybe steer away from healthcare in a minimum wage/welfare queens thread.

 

My son weighed in around 35 pounds at 3 1/2 years and 32 pounds on his 4th birthday.  Unbelievably, this didn't raise a red flag in the doctor's office.  My ex-wife had my son on a goofy gluten-free, dairy-free diet because he's slightly behind socially, and she believes diet contributes to autism.

 

I'm not making this up.

 

Now, just from a social awareness standpoint, shouldn't the docs have asked "What's going on here?"  Nope.  It just didn't meet the parameters of malnutrition because he was otherwise extremely healthy, just very light for his age and height.  These guys are supposed to be on the front lines of detecting child neglect and abuse for crying out loud.

 

So I took my son off the diet despite a legal threat from his mother, but had to schedule - get this - a separate, unscheduled visit to the pediatrician just so she could tell my ex-wife, "yeah, maybe you should let him eat pizza."  Personally, I believe it's my ex-wife that needs a few doctor visits.

 

I have enough money to cover a couple hundred bucks, but what if I didn't?  The docs should have caught this, and they didn't.  They didn't ask enough questions, and unless I REALLY wanted to make a fuss to the insurance company, they didn't care either.  As you mentioned, this should have been a follow-up and not an unscheduled visit, but the hassle of arguing over the money isn't worth it. 

 

Anyway, I'm really not impressed with American healthcare, but I don't have much of a frame of reference having not been sick anywhere else.  It just seems we pay an awful lot for mediocre results - at least at the general, diagnostic level.

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Sorry for the late reply, and I'll try to answer this one well enough to maybe steer away from healthcare in a minimum wage/welfare queens thread.


My son weighed in around 35 pounds at 3 1/2 years and 32 pounds on his 4th birthday. Unbelievably, this didn't raise a red flag in the doctor's office. My ex-wife had my son on a goofy gluten-free, dairy-free diet because he's slightly behind socially, and she believes diet contributes to autism.


I'm not making this up.


Now, just from a social awareness standpoint, shouldn't the docs have asked "What's going on here?" Nope. It just didn't meet the parameters of malnutrition because he was otherwise extremely healthy, just very light for his age and height. These guys are supposed to be on the front lines of detecting child neglect and abuse for crying out loud.


So I took my son off the diet despite a legal threat from his mother, but had to schedule - get this - a separate, unscheduled visit to the pediatrician just so she could tell my ex-wife, "yeah, maybe you should let him eat pizza." Personally, I believe it's my ex-wife that needs a few doctor visits.


I have enough money to cover a couple hundred bucks, but what if I didn't? The docs should have caught this, and they didn't. They didn't ask enough questions, and unless I REALLY wanted to make a fuss to the insurance company, they didn't care either. As you mentioned, this should have been a follow-up and not an unscheduled visit, but the hassle of arguing over the money isn't worth it.


Anyway, I'm really not impressed with American healthcare, but I don't have much of a frame of reference having not been sick anywhere else. It just seems we pay an awful lot for mediocre results - at least at the general, diagnostic level.

I went to hospital for spider bite. Talked to Dr. for 5 minutes. Bill? $800. Yeah something is wrong with healthcare in America. Blaming Obamacare is disingenuous to the greater issue we have. Health care for profit is hurting America.

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I went to hospital for spider bite. Talked to Dr. for 5 minutes. Bill? $800. Yeah something is wrong with healthcare in America. Blaming Obamacare is disingenuous to the greater issue we have. Health care for profit is hurting America.

 

Over the past 3 years I've racked up over 400k in healthcare bills.  I'm just thankful I had a deductible.

 

I also found it interesting the price insurance companies pay as opposed to a patients out of pocket.  It was roughly half what you and I would have had to pay.

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Over the past 3 years I've racked up over 400k in healthcare bills.  I'm just thankful I had a deductible.

 

I also found it interesting the price insurance companies pay as opposed to a patients out of pocket.  It was roughly half what you and I would have had to pay.

 

All industries benefit from buying in bulk or at wholesale, health care is no different.

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“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato

Sorry for the late reply, and I'll try to answer this one well enough to maybe steer away from healthcare in a minimum wage/welfare queens thread.

 

My son weighed in around 35 pounds at 3 1/2 years and 32 pounds on his 4th birthday.  Unbelievably, this didn't raise a red flag in the doctor's office.  My ex-wife had my son on a goofy gluten-free, dairy-free diet because he's slightly behind socially, and she believes diet contributes to autism.

 

I'm not making this up.

 

Now, just from a social awareness standpoint, shouldn't the docs have asked "What's going on here?"  Nope.  It just didn't meet the parameters of malnutrition because he was otherwise extremely healthy, just very light for his age and height.  These guys are supposed to be on the front lines of detecting child neglect and abuse for crying out loud.

 

So I took my son off the diet despite a legal threat from his mother, but had to schedule - get this - a separate, unscheduled visit to the pediatrician just so she could tell my ex-wife, "yeah, maybe you should let him eat pizza."  Personally, I believe it's my ex-wife that needs a few doctor visits.

 

I have enough money to cover a couple hundred bucks, but what if I didn't?  The docs should have caught this, and they didn't.  They didn't ask enough questions, and unless I REALLY wanted to make a fuss to the insurance company, they didn't care either.  As you mentioned, this should have been a follow-up and not an unscheduled visit, but the hassle of arguing over the money isn't worth it. 

 

Anyway, I'm really not impressed with American healthcare, but I don't have much of a frame of reference having not been sick anywhere else.  It just seems we pay an awful lot for mediocre results - at least at the general, diagnostic level.

 

I'm really sorry to hear your story, my own daughter flat lined in her growth for a while around 10 months. She went from the 50th percentile at birth to completely off the bottom of the chart by her first birthday. It was very scary for a while but I'm glad you at least could pinpoint the problem. We did several studies and never got a reason.

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“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato

I'm really sorry to hear your story, my own daughter flat lined in her growth for a while around 10 months. She went from the 50th percentile at birth to completely off the bottom of the chart by her first birthday. It was very scary for a while but I'm glad you at least could pinpoint the problem. We did several studies and never got a reason.

 

That's awful. Sorry to hear that.

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That's awful. Sorry to hear that.

 

She'll probably always be on the slender side, but at least she's back on the charts now at the age of 5.

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“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato

I'm really sorry to hear your story, my own daughter flat lined in her growth for a while around 10 months. She went from the 50th percentile at birth to completely off the bottom of the chart by her first birthday. It was very scary for a while but I'm glad you at least could pinpoint the problem. We did several studies and never got a reason.

Hope she keeps climbing up the scale.  Parenting sure ain't for the weak of heart.

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She'll probably always be on the slender side, but at least she's back on the charts now at the age of 5.

That's good news! Are you putting her in kindergarten?


My youngster son was premature, were debating holding him back at kindergarten because he's a little behind, developmentally...

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