Just read the latest Bus Week cover story that explains that almost all job creation for the last five years has been in health care. They pointed out that almost 2 million IT jobs have been lost with the implication that lower paying health care jobs were substituted. And there's no end in sight - health care will probably be the only job creation engine of growth for America for several decades. Now I believe in free markets and all that, but how that can be a healthy economic development - no pun intended - for the US? Most of health care is not really "exportable" and it seems more a sign of an aging, lifestyle-driven economy. Am I missing something here? The article said that in the not too distant future 25% of our GDP would be health care. Now I don't want to insult any traders who happen to be in the medical field, but can't we all agree that health care is primarily a support or service sector of the economy? Shouldn't this be greeted with all the enthusiasm of seeing the governmental piece of the pie growing?
What the hell is Bus Week smoking? What about all the jobs created in real estate industry over the last 5 years????
I often wonder what might happen if millions of uninsured people living in the USA need health care but do not have money to pay. I believe health care industry is not stable. I can not predict the future and have no idea when big changes may happen. One timing clue might be changes in the long term behavior of medical service provider stock prices. I live in Florida and my neighbors are mostly old retired people. I recall being told by my neighbors that once the doctors learn that a patient is on medicare the doctors schedule every test that they know medicare pays for. I believe this is a scam, the tests are not necessary, the medical community knows how to get money from medicare. Patients seem to visit the doctor with every little trouble because medicare pays. I believe my neighbors cause much of their own illness. I see trash cans have lots of liquor bottles in them. Some of my neighbors smoke, nearly all are overweight, and only a few get what I consider to be significant exercise. My taxes pay for the consequences of their health habits. I believe a solution to the high cost of medical care is to have no medicare, no health insurance. Everybody pays cash. Suddenly financial discipline is restored. I have no health insurance because I prefer to pay cash for my medical services. I am stingy and cheap. The medical people try to sell me all kinds of services but I tell them to stop being salespeople. They do not like me. My 84 year old neighbor gives me the following advice: "Stay away from doctors."
Sometimes a cover story on a major publication coincides with a price top or bottom. I wonder if a major event is happening in the healthcare industry.
Sometimes I wonder if I am one of those neocon neoconservative guys. I might look up the definition of neocon after I get out of the pool. Cya!
Modern medicine is the number one cause of death in the US. At least 800,000 US citizens die annually. Google "Death By Medicine" by Doctors Gary Null, Carolyn Dean. The health care industry is aware of these statistics and is finally making improvements in some areas.
This makes no sense, especially of you are cheap. What will happen to your bank account if you urgently need a surgery, such as appendix, kidney stone, bypass and so on. It can easily run over 100K???
Doctors have no incentive whatsoever to cure or help anyone. If they do, they will lose a patient. Why would a doctor cure someone of a thyroid problem for $5000 when they can wait for that patient to develop prostate cancer or diabetes and make $2 million treating him? The plan is to put people on anti depressants while the underlying problems get worse to maximize income. Yes this is incredibly cynical. I asked a doctor a few weeks ago what a visit would cost. They told me $450. The bill was $975. They did reduce it when I complained to $800, lucky me. He also prescribed medication that costs $250 a month when a genereic equivalent, which I asked for, Is available for $30 a month.
------------------------------------------------ Hello Fight Future: I am proof of what you said. March 31 1997 I walked into the emergency center on my own. 15 hours later they had to defib my heart 5 times over a 31 minute period to keep me alive. The reason I got into such bad shape during those 15 hours was due to completely lack of proper medical care. Nobody seemed to know what to do and they did not really give a crap. They just did not care. At the very last minute one doctor finally stepped in and started a recovery action... ...and this was the emergency room of a fairly large hospital. If that one doctor had not stepped in, the first doctor and others would have just let me die. No big deal to them. My suggestion: Beware of doctors and have a healthy person at the hospital to step in if no action (or poor action) is being taken. I'll never regain the physical damage that they let happen during those 15 hours... It is still their "not caring enough to even start recovery action" that I still remember most. The first doctor flat out did not care and all support people followed that doctors action... agpilot Ps: I'll say again: Always have a healthy person backing you up during a serious problem.. Medical people know how to cover up mistakes.