VERY GOOD POINT PELT. I NEVER ASK WHAT IT COST AND IF I DID THEY COULD PROBABLY STILL SCREW ME OVER AFTER THE FACT. I've got enough stories about rotten, crooked and incompetent doctors to fill a book but I suspect that most other patients have encountered the same problem. After treating me for a couple of years my doctor told me that I needed to find another doctor because if he kept treating me then I was going to die. He had treated me with multiple cortisone shots for asthma. My allergist who saved my life said that I was lucky that he hadn't killed me. I've been living with two artificial hips for 15 years now because of that old bastard.
While I'm for such a system, 1 problem is that it'll be abused by millions of losers out there. As for hopitals overcharging...hell yeah! If you pay cash, you pay anywhere 2-10 times what the crooked insurance cos. pay. Also this stupid system of insurance cos. spends a *huge* percent just on paperwork trying to weasel out of paying/denying payments & paying their crooked executives millions. It's a completely phucked system. The only way to deal with it is go to the hospital, NOT pay the bill & NOT have any assets they can get from you. That's how the illegal immigrants do it & they get "free" health care that way!!!
Health care's big money wasters More than $1.2 trillion spent on health care each year is a waste of money. Members of the medical community identify the leading causes. By Parija B. Kavilanz, CNNMoney.com senior writer Last Updated: August 10, 2009: 12:13 PM ET http://money.cnn.com/2009/08/10/news/economy/healthcare_money_wasters/index.htm Just another way to EXPLOIT the American People. First Federal Reserve Second Banking Industry Third Global War on Terror (Defense Spending Arms Race) Fourth Medical Scam!!!!!
Man is crawling through the desert, desperate for water. After a very long time, he comes upon a man. Grabbing his pant leg, he croaks out "Water!" The upright man says "I don't have any water, but I can sell you a tie." The crawling guy spits back "Get away from me, you coyote!" The other man continues on. Our hero keeps crawling along the desert floor, and after a while in the far distance he sees a floating lake. He crawls faster. As he gets closer, it resolves into a building. He continues to crawl, hoping there's someone there who will help him out. When he gets there, there's a long staircase on the outside. He climbs up, opens a door at the top. Surprisingly, there's a fancy restaurant in there. He finds the maitre'd, grabs him, and pants out "Water!" The maitre'd looks him up and down, then informs him "I'm sorry sir. We don't serve anyone without a tie." There's a moral in there somewhere...
There are some PRIMARY care physicians in Seattle that have gone to a "flat-rate" form of care and everyone seems to be happy. You can walk-in as many times as you want, and you pay a flat rate from $39 to $119 per month. They are open 12 hours a day, and Saturday's too. Since they get rid of the "middleman" ( the insurance companies ) they don't have to watch .50 cents of every patient's $1.00 go towards the medical billing "paper-chase" that ensues. Seems to be an interesting "model" for sure . . . http://www.reuters.com/article/smallBusinessNews/idUSTRE5660N620090708
Six pages of criticisms of health care in the U.S, and no call for Tort reform? And someone even noticed that anesthesiologists charge a ton. OK, why do those folks have to pay, like 300K for Malpractice / year. You think they want to? Or more likely, that is how many lawyers are trying take a slice of their ass? Not that I am huge fan of MDs. But really, just look at John Edwards, worth ~ 50Mill, all from suing MDs, some of it completely bogus, in retrospect. lease, there might be some "low hanging" fruit here. Just drop the mob psychology for a few days.
actually......drs should be sued more often, if they do not like being sued for malpractice, they should stop committing it. Every DR in america should be sued no less than twice per year.
Someone has to foot the bill for free health care for illegals and fat pay for ambulance chasers. Minimize risk exposure, live healthy and save enough to retire by 40 somewhere else. This country is going to be Mexico II within a less than a generation
I recently came across this 2000 article from the Journal of the American Medical Association, which had been removed from their website. Seems that medical negligence was the third leading cause of death in the US. This Journal of the American Medical Association article illuminates the failure of the U.S. medical system in providing decent medical care for Americans. In spite of the rising health care costs that provide the illusion of improving health care, the American people do not enjoy good health, compared with their counterparts in the industrialized nations. Among thirteen countries including Japan, Sweden, France and Canada, the U.S. was ranked 12th, based on the measurement of 16 health indicators such as life expectancy, low-birth-weight averages and infant mortality. In another comparison reported by the World Health Organization that used a different set of health indicators, the U.S. also fared poorly with a ranking of 15 among 25 industrialized nations. Although many people attribute poor health to the bad habits of the American public, Starfield (2000) points out that the Americans do not lead an unhealthy lifestyle compared to their counterparts. For example, only 28 percent of the male population in the U.S. smoked, thus making it the third best nation in the category of smoking among the 13 industrialized nations. The U.S. population also achieved a high ranking (5th best) for alcohol consumption. In the category of men aged 50 to 70 years, the U.S. had the third lowest mean cholesterol concentrations among 13 industrialized nations. Therefore, the perception that the American publicâs poor health is a result of their negative health habits is false. Even more significantly, the medical system has played a large role in undermining the health of Americans. According to several research studies in the last decade, a total of 225,000 Americans per year have died as a result of their medical treatments: ⢠12,000 deaths per year due to unnecessary surgery ⢠7000 deaths per year due to medication errors in hospitals ⢠20,000 deaths per year due to other errors in hospitals ⢠80,000 deaths per year due to infections in hospitals ⢠106,000 deaths per year due to negative effects of drugs Thus, America's healthcare-system-induced deaths are the third leading cause of the death in the U.S., after heart disease and cancer. One of the key problems of the U.S. health system is that as many as 40 million people in the U.S. do not have access to healthcare. The social and economic inequalities that are an integral part of American society are mirrored in the inequality of access to the health care system. Essentially, families of low socioeconomic status are cut off from receiving a decent level of health care. By citing these statistics, Starfield (2000) highlights the need to examine the type of health care provided to the U.S. population. The traditional medical paradigm that emphasizes the use of prescription medicine and medical treatment has not only failed to improve the health of Americans, but also led to the decline in the overall well-being of Americans. Starfieldâs (2000) comparison of the medical systems of Japan and the U.S. captures the fundamental differences in the treatment approach. Unlike the U.S., Japan has the healthiest population among the industrialized nations. Instead of relying on sophisticated technology and professional personnel for medical treatment as in the U.S., Japan uses its technology solely for diagnostic purposes. Furthermore, in Japan, family members, rather than hospital staff, are involved in caring for the patients. The success of the Japanese medical system testifies to the dire need for Americans to alter their philosophical approach towards health and treatment. In the blind reliance on drugs, surgery, technology and medical establishments, the American medical system has inflicted more harm than good on the U.S. population. Starfieldâs (2000) article is invaluable in unveiling the catastrophic effects of the medical treatments provided to the American people. In order to improve the medical system, American policymakers and the medical establishment need to adopt a comprehensive approach and critically examine the failure of the richest country in the world to provide decent health care for its people. The reason that they have difficulty doing that is explained on the following page. http://www.world-prosperity.org/healthcare.htm[/seen statics from different sources putting the