My God, you are an idiot. - Page 21

Tyrone Slothrop · 05-10-2011, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Replaced_Texan

I dunno. I have health insurance, my fiance doesn't. (He will when we get married next year, but that's not particularly helpful right now.) Both of our necks got jacked pretty badly in the crash last week*, and right now, we need the same exact care. It's not a consumer choice that we're left with. If we don't get our necks checked out and treated, it probably would get worse and more expensive and/or debilitating.**

I don't really see how it's possible to shop around for the "best value" in physical medicine. There's no website he can check to see where the prices are the best. There's not even a physician out there that posts her rates. When I made the appointment for us, the clinic (chosen because it's one of the entities I work for) said that his cash outlay would be anywhere between $78 and $350, depending on what happens. How on earth can he make a informed choice as a consumer when until he's seen and treated, no one has a clue how much he'll be charged? And this is just the initial assessment. If he needs PT or radiology or whatever, it's not like he has the knowledge or experience to determine what the cost effective, best for the consumer choice is.

*Hopefully Farmer's, the other guy's insurance,will pick all of this up, but the initial charge will be to my fiance, and we know that the insurance company will go through all bills with a fine toothed comb.

**His sometimes painful sciatica and hernia remain untreated, because he's very aware of the costs of taking care of those two things. His asthma is sort of treated, but only because my dad is a lung doctor and keeps his albuterol prescription filled and will hand over the occasional samples of Symbicort and Singulair that happen to be dropped off by drug reps. Albuterol, for those wondering, costs $47.90 more or less every three weeks if you do not have health insurance.

It may feel like his experience as a consumer of medical care kinda sucks, and I'm sure it does, but just remember: His difficulties will play a crucial role in establishing the right incentives for health-care providers, and for that reason will benefit all of us by improving the level of care and driving costs down. Keep that in mind as he is out there researching prices and declining excessively expensive treatment.

LessinSF · 05-10-2011, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Replaced_Texan

I dunno. I have health insurance, my fiance doesn't. (He will when we get married next year, but that's not particularly helpful right now.) Both of our necks got jacked pretty badly in the crash last week*, and right now, we need the same exact care. It's not a consumer choice that we're left with. If we don't get our necks checked out and treated, it probably would get worse and more expensive and/or debilitating.**

I don't really see how it's possible to shop around for the "best value" in physical medicine. There's no website he can check to see where the prices are the best. There's not even a physician out there that posts her rates. When I made the appointment for us, the clinic (chosen because it's one of the entities I work for) said that his cash outlay would be anywhere between $78 and $350, depending on what happens. How on earth can he make a informed choice as a consumer when until he's seen and treated, no one has a clue how much he'll be charged? And this is just the initial assessment. If he needs PT or radiology or whatever, it's not like he has the knowledge or experience to determine what the cost effective, best for the consumer choice is.

*Hopefully Farmer's, the other guy's insurance,will pick all of this up, but the initial charge will be to my fiance, and we know that the insurance company will go through all bills with a fine toothed comb.

**His sometimes painful sciatica and hernia remain untreated, because he's very aware of the costs of taking care of those two things. His asthma is sort of treated, but only because my dad is a lung doctor and keeps his albuterol prescription filled and will hand over the occasional samples of Symbicort and Singulair that happen to be dropped off by drug reps. Albuterol, for those wondering, costs $47.90 more or less every three weeks if you do not have health insurance.

I'm going to show my ignorance, but isn't he a veteran eligble for VA coverage?

Replaced_Texan · 05-10-2011, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LessinSF

I'm going to show my ignorance, but isn't he a veteran eligble for VA coverage?

He's a veteran, but he's ineligible for VA coverage due to administrative discharge.

Adder · 05-10-2011, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Replaced_Texan

administrative discharge.

Got kicked out for being a commie?

Hank Chinaski · 05-10-2011, 07:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop

It may feel like his experience as a consumer of medical care kinda sucks, and I'm sure it does, but just remember: His difficulties will play a crucial role in establishing the right incentives for health-care providers, and for that reason will benefit all of us by improving the level of care and driving costs down. Keep that in mind as he is out there researching prices and declining excessively expensive treatment.

to be fair- although if we (everyone but you) can agree on anything I bet it's that you have no interest in being fair, oddly on the board where you're a mod- Sebby point wasn't that lack of health care is good, his point was that carte blanc coverage can generate wasteful expense. As he said, one can show his point seems cruel, if we accept the current structure, but he asks whether we shouldn't tear that structure down (of course we won't, but he was asking the intellectual point)

Tyrone Slothrop · 05-10-2011, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski

to be fair- although if we (everyone but you) can agree on anything I bet it's that you have no interest in being fair, oddly on the board where you're a mod- Sebby point wasn't that lack of health care is good, his point was that carte blanc coverage can generate wasteful expense. As he said, one can show his point seems cruel, if we accept the current structure, but he asks whether we shouldn't tear that structure down (of course we won't, but he was asking the intellectual point)

I don't believe I was suggesting, even humorously (on humourously, for my Canadian (and Canadienne) readers) that Sebby's point was that a lack of health care is good. That's dumb. Sebby's point is that having to shop for health care is good, because the only way (says he) that you get real cost controls is when the end user has to make a determination about whether to pay for a particular service or not. I believe that was the point I was unfairly ridiculing.

Hank Chinaski · 05-10-2011, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop

I don't believe I was suggesting, even humorously (on humourously, for my Canadian (and Canadienne) readers) that Sebby's point was that a lack of health care is good. That's dumb. Sebby's point is that having to shop for health care is good, because the only way (says he) that you get real cost controls is when the end user has to make a determination about whether to pay for a particular service or not. I believe that was the point I was unfairly ridiculing.

that was point 3 or 4. point 1 was making an EKG (or whatever*) cost something would reduce medical spending.

*my sister's first job was in a proctologist's office in a very poor neighborhood. EVERY new patient got an EKG. Why?

Sidd Finch · 05-10-2011, 07:47 PM

Replaced_Texan · 05-10-2011, 07:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adder

Got kicked out for being a commie?

Close. Pothead while Clinton was trying to reduce troop size.

Tyrone Slothrop · 05-10-2011, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski

that was point 3 or 4. point 1 was making an EKG (or whatever*) cost something would reduce medical spending.

If so, I don't think I was ridiculing that point with anything I said.

Quote:

*my sister's first job was in a proctologist's office in a very poor neighborhood. EVERY new patient got an EKG. Why?

Because she couldn't find a better job?

Hank Chinaski · 05-10-2011, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop

Because she couldn't find a better job?

well right. and good guessing about how us lower middle class people have to compromise. did you have a class or did a blog tell you how we are forced to make choices?

Hank Chinaski · 05-10-2011, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Replaced_Texan

Close. Pothead while Clinton was trying to reduce troop size.

oh. while he was doing everything he could to go after al queda. I remember.

Tyrone Slothrop · 05-10-2011, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski

well right. and good guessing about how us lower middle class people have to compromise. did you have a class or did a blog tell you how we are forced to make choices?

I read Bukowski's Post Office.

Tyrone Slothrop · 05-10-2011, 08:34 PM

"Gingrich 2012: He will always love America. Unless it gets cancer."

Hank Chinaski · 05-10-2011, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop

I read Bukowski's Post Office.

did you, or like I went to Harvard?