How screwed up is health insurance/health care?

dblack

Diamond Member
May 21, 2011
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I just got back from the pharmacist - picked up a prescription for some skin cream to treat psoriasis. When I balked at the price ($40.00), the pharmacist informed me that it was actually much more expensive than that. The $40.00 was just my copay. They tube of cream (maybe two months worth) actually cost $389. She acted like I should feel fortunate that I was getting an awesome high-dollar medicine for "only" 40 dollars. I was furious. Nevermind that I have to get permission from a long list of middlemen (the government, my doctor, my insurance company) just to buy some fucking skin cream. But some rent-seeking pharmaceutical company is playing the regulation game to make insane profits.

In an actual free market, of course, no one would pay $400 for a tube of skin cream. And no insurance company would cover such an expense. And prices for that shit would come down.

Thanks Obama!
 
I just got back from the pharmacist - picked up a prescription for some skin cream to treat psoriasis. When I balked at the price ($40.00), the pharmacist informed me that it was actually much more expensive than that. The $40.00 was just my copay. They tube of cream (maybe two months worth) actually cost $389. She acted like I should feel fortunate that I was getting an awesome high-dollar medicine for "only" 40 dollars. I was furious. Nevermind that I have to get permission from a long list of middlemen (the government, my doctor, my insurance company) just to buy some fucking skin cream. But some rent-seeking pharmaceutical company is playing the regulation game to make insane profits.

In an actual free market, of course, no one would pay $400 for a tube of skin cream. And no insurance company would cover such an expense. And prices for that shit would come down.

Thanks Obama!
You'd almost have to think that the "Affordable" Care Act was a scam.
 
Exactly! Thank You!

Free-market solution expanded upon for the benefit of the casual passer-by...


O is a fraud and a criminal, but blaming him for the high cost of skin cream is disingenuous. The whole system is a scam.


Yeah, I didn't agree with the thanks obama part myself, but the rest was spot on.


Obama surely saw what a corporatist feeding trough he was handed with ACA. He could have sent it back to Congress and told them to start over. But he signed it. So, I'm fine with blaming him. Not that there aren't many, many others who are culpable.
 
Exactly! Thank You!

Free-market solution expanded upon for the benefit of the casual passer-by...


What a horse's ass! (Ron Paul, that is)

What do 87% of the voting Democrats and 67% of the voting public really want? Duh.. Medicare For All. Start with that.
 
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What a horse's ass! (Ron Paul, that is)

What do 87% of the voting Democrats and 67% of the voting public really want? Duh.. Medicare For All. Start with that.

The majority is always wrong, unfortunately. There was a great TEd talk on that actually. Turns out they don't think outside the box, they stick with maybe two choices in a kind of Hegelian circlejerk.

But, hey, it's just whuhevs, opinions vary, Grumblenuts.
 
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Of course the devil's in the details. Something Ron Paul conveniently skips right past with military regularity, to capture the low hanging (information) fruit, much like Trump. Oh, and Biden, of course!
 
The government can not sustain the cost of healthcare related expenses

Obamacare is a fucking ponzi scheme, and like all ponzi schemes
they eventually come crashing down

Which is why the SC ruled in favor of the insurance companies to the tune of $12 billion

I posted about this before...the health insurance plans my company offers ARE NOT affordable
I will pay a min. $7,000 over the course of a year for the cheapest plan
There is a $1,200 deductible I have to satisfy before they'll cover 40-60% of expenses
I would have to pay $50 every time I saw a regular doctor
and $75 if the doctor was a specialist

Certain procedures have monthly/yearly maximums
Blah, blah, blah

By the time all is said and done, just to say...have a pap smear
would cost me over $8,200...get the fuck out

I also posted about this some time back....
I have 25 years vested in a union
At the time, I had BC/BS PPO, $200 deductible, 80% coverage for medical alone
Awesome dental and vision as well...it cost me $19 a month

I had a medical procedure and paid $200 upfront to satisfy my deductible for the year
and had them bill my insurance for the rest..leaving me with 20% of the costs

When my statement came from the health and welfare fund, I was like...huh
My insurance was billed $1,500 for a procedure I was told would cost $450
So, I called the office and told the woman there was a billing mistake

She tells me, no, it's not a mistake...$1,500 is the maximum you're covered for
I'm like...what's that have to do with anything, I was told $450

Yes, if you paid the entire amount in cash...then after your deductible
we would have paid 80% of the remaining $250 and you would be responsible for the remainder

That's what hospitals and doctor offices do when you use insurance,
they bill us for the maximum coverage

I WENT OFF...WHAT...THATS NOT RIGHT...I WANT TO DISPUTE THE CHARGES THEN
I'm going to end up paying 20% of a $1,300 bill, plus the $200 I already paid
Plus, it's not right they are charging my insurance almost 4x it would have cost had I paid cash
She didn't tell me any of this...I want to dispute the charges and don't want payment released

The woman tells me...you know, I wish there were more people like you
This is the first time I've had a member dispute the charges we were billed

When I got off the phone with her, I called the medical center
Within 2 weeks, the benefit office received a bill for $450 minus the $200 I already paid
 
The majority is always wrong, unfortunately. There was a great TEd talk on that actually.
What a tired cliché. That TED Talk was actually critical of conservatism. Those stuck in a self-fulfilled rut doing and proposing to do nothing but the same old shit everyone's already been doing and thinking. Fear change! That stupid majority. Exactly what Ron Paul proposed in that video. Returning to those familiar good old days where life was beautiful all the time.. except it was never actually that great else any proposed changes would have long been laughed away and forgotten.

There's nothing wrong with being conservative with reason rather than out of fear. If after doing a serious risk / benefit analysis, a proposed change fails to indicate significant improvement it should be rejected. Being radical is exciting, but no more promising than being boring. In this case however, Medicare For All is what's outside the box and indicates significant bangs in terms of far more than just bucks.
 
What a tired cliché. That TED Talk was actually critical of conservatism. Those stuck in a self-fulfilled rut doing and proposing to do nothing but the same old shit everyone's already been doing and thinking. Fear change! That stupid majority. Exactly what Ron Paul proposed in that video.

Well. Here's how Ron defines conservatism. With who I agree.



What say you?
 
I just got back from the pharmacist - picked up a prescription for some skin cream to treat psoriasis. When I balked at the price ($40.00), the pharmacist informed me that it was actually much more expensive than that. The $40.00 was just my copay. They tube of cream (maybe two months worth) actually cost $389. She acted like I should feel fortunate that I was getting an awesome high-dollar medicine for "only" 40 dollars. I was furious. Nevermind that I have to get permission from a long list of middlemen (the government, my doctor, my insurance company) just to buy some fucking skin cream. But some rent-seeking pharmaceutical company is playing the regulation game to make insane profits.

In an actual free market, of course, no one would pay $400 for a tube of skin cream. And no insurance company would cover such an expense. And prices for that shit would come down.

Thanks Obama!
The ACA is a Republican plan.

The ‘free’ market isn’t the answer.

I was watching a TV show from the UK about an unemployed, homeless man who was suffering from mental illness and went off his meds.

The doctor who was helping the homeless, unemployed man instructed him that when he got back home he should see his doctor and get a new prescription for his medication.

That’s how healthcare should work.
 
What a tired cliché. That TED Talk was actually critical of conservatism. Those stuck in a self-fulfilled rut doing and proposing to do nothing but the same old shit everyone's already been doing and thinking. Fear change! That stupid majority. Exactly what Ron Paul proposed in that video.

Well. Here's how Ron defines conservatism. With who I agree.



What say you?

Been listening to his pap for many decades. Occasionally he's right.. like a stopped clock. In other words, still thoroughly unimpressed overall. Always appreciate his criticism of foreign military adventure funding.
 
I just got back from the pharmacist - picked up a prescription for some skin cream to treat psoriasis. When I balked at the price ($40.00), the pharmacist informed me that it was actually much more expensive than that. The $40.00 was just my copay. They tube of cream (maybe two months worth) actually cost $389. She acted like I should feel fortunate that I was getting an awesome high-dollar medicine for "only" 40 dollars. I was furious. Nevermind that I have to get permission from a long list of middlemen (the government, my doctor, my insurance company) just to buy some fucking skin cream. But some rent-seeking pharmaceutical company is playing the regulation game to make insane profits.

In an actual free market, of course, no one would pay $400 for a tube of skin cream. And no insurance company would cover such an expense. And prices for that shit would come down.

Thanks Obama!
The ACA is a Republican plan.
Whatever. Obama signed it.

The ‘free’ market isn’t the answer.

That depends on the question.

I was watching a TV show from the UK about an unemployed, homeless man who was suffering from mental illness and went off his meds.

The doctor who was helping the homeless, unemployed man instructed him that when he got back home he should see his doctor and get a new prescription for his medication.

That’s how healthcare should work.

Like soma? In Brave New World?

Seriously, you don't see anything creepy, or ripe for abuse, in government supplying citizens with their "meds"?
 
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