There are 300+ million people in America. It would be easy to keep standards high and have opportunities for hundreds of thousands to be added to the doctor / medical practice lists. When you add in all the best and brightest from around the world wanting to come to America then it would be feasible to drastically bring down medical costs.
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Why an MRI costs $1,080 in America and $280 in France
- Thread starter bigarrow
- Start date
There are 300+ million people in America. It would be easy to keep standards high and have opportunities for hundreds of thousands to be added to the doctor / medical practice lists. When you add in all the best and brightest from around the world wanting to come to America then it would be feasible to drastically bring down medical costs.
Insurance companies are to blame.
Their contract stipulations require a certain discount off of standard and prevailing rates up to a maximum pay out.
If hospital and doctors want to get paid for servicing the insured masses and not get gouged more than they are contractually obligated to make they must keep health care costs exorbitant to the non insured.
If their reimbursement rate is set to 25% of their rack rates the providers are receiving amounts similar to other countries. If the provider lowers their billing rates they have the dual problem of collecting from non insured patients and having to deal with claw backs and lowering their rates from their slow but eventually paying insurance network.
The fine line that insurers breach daily is practicing medicine without license. They do this via their pre-approval and claims process. Doctors and Hospitals in the US are really practitioners of insurance approved medical services.
Their contract stipulations require a certain discount off of standard and prevailing rates up to a maximum pay out.
If hospital and doctors want to get paid for servicing the insured masses and not get gouged more than they are contractually obligated to make they must keep health care costs exorbitant to the non insured.
If their reimbursement rate is set to 25% of their rack rates the providers are receiving amounts similar to other countries. If the provider lowers their billing rates they have the dual problem of collecting from non insured patients and having to deal with claw backs and lowering their rates from their slow but eventually paying insurance network.
The fine line that insurers breach daily is practicing medicine without license. They do this via their pre-approval and claims process. Doctors and Hospitals in the US are really practitioners of insurance approved medical services.
Quote from nutmeg:
I'm pretty sure Obama care didn't go anywhere near tort reform.
Because its not worth the effort
Texas and a few other states have tort reform and they still have some of the highest health insurance rates in the nation .Texas also has the most uninsured in the nation with 25 % .Malpractice insurance in Texas is among the lowest in the country due to tort reform but health insurance rates arent.The money saved goes to the doctor and insurance company profits ,not the patient
I hit 9 deer in 13 years, when you take that truck to the body shop, they don't even look you in the eye. They ask you what your deductible is and then they start charging whatever they think the insurance company will pay.
I had an old Suburban and I asked them what it would cost to fix the rust, and they didn't even know how to make an estimate for a customer paying cash.
I had an old Suburban and I asked them what it would cost to fix the rust, and they didn't even know how to make an estimate for a customer paying cash.
all I know is, I was in a bad accident and woke up in the hospital. They wanted to do an MRI. I said ok. The MRI room was only about 20 feet from my hospital bed, but they wouln't let me walk to it and made me ride in a wheelchair.
When they told me they wanted to keep me over night I just said, "fuck it" and walked out.
The security guard came out while I was waiting for the cab and said, "We can't force you to stay, but you do need to check out."
The nurse at the desk was really shitty, mainly because I hadn't taken out all those things they put in your arm, so I ripped them out and scratched my name on a form and left.
8 hours in the hospital and the bill was over ten grand. And the one that got me was a bill from some outfit in Florida charging me $250 for a twenty foot wheel chair ride from my bed to the MRI room.
They called it "wheelchair rental"
At $250 a pop, why don't they just buy a wheel chair?
When they told me they wanted to keep me over night I just said, "fuck it" and walked out.
The security guard came out while I was waiting for the cab and said, "We can't force you to stay, but you do need to check out."
The nurse at the desk was really shitty, mainly because I hadn't taken out all those things they put in your arm, so I ripped them out and scratched my name on a form and left.
8 hours in the hospital and the bill was over ten grand. And the one that got me was a bill from some outfit in Florida charging me $250 for a twenty foot wheel chair ride from my bed to the MRI room.
They called it "wheelchair rental"
At $250 a pop, why don't they just buy a wheel chair?
Quote from nutmeg:
Probably should ask a Dr if it's worth the effort.
It wouldn't lower health insurance premiums or the cash paying customer's cost, it would just make the Doctor more money.
What you won't hear from them is how will this benefit the patient. What you won't hear from them is a plan to provide health care for the millions of the uninsured. Which is OK, they are in it for the money as am I in my business. But lets not buy their bullshit that they are working for the good of the patient, or that oath that we're supposed to believe they work under. It's about the money, and it's about a hell of a lot of money.
Quote from oldtime:
all I know is, I was in a bad accident and woke up in the hospital. They wanted to do an MRI. I said ok. The MRI room was only about 20 feet from my hospital bed, but they wouln't let me walk to it and made me ride in a wheelchair.
When they told me they wanted to keep me over night I just said, "fuck it" and walked out.
The security guard came out while I was waiting for the cab and said, "We can't force you to stay, but you do need to check out."
The nurse at the desk was really shitty, mainly because I hadn't taken out all those things they put in your arm, so I ripped them out and scratched my name on a form and left.
8 hours in the hospital and the bill was over ten grand. And the one that got me was a bill from some outfit in Florida charging me $250 for a twenty foot wheel chair ride from my bed to the MRI room.
They called it "wheelchair rental"
At $250 a pop, why don't they just buy a wheel chair?
i had a surgery(nothing really special). bill is partially covered by insurance company.i'm still not sure,how it works in US,but doctor was asking 75K for it. got $7K from insurance company. everyone is happy. wtf?