Getbig.com: American Bodybuilding, Fitness and Figure
Getbig Main Boards => Gossip & Opinions => Topic started by: el numero uno on February 06, 2020, 10:25:59 AM
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Are people exaggerating about the American Healthcare system or is it that bad if you don't have insurance?
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Answer by Libby Brooks, works at University of Florida
Answered Jan 30
Well, I’ll let you judge for yourself.
A little more than six years ago, my husband and I were both working good jobs. Because it costs so much to add your spouse and/or family members to the insurance you get through your job here (*if* you get insurance through your employer at all), most couples keep their health insurance through their employer. Of course that means that you may have dramatically different plans, coverage, co-pays, in or out of network criteria, and so on, but it keeps it very affordable. So that’s what we did!
In the fall, my husband, who has inherited Type 2 Diabetes (yes, it is a thing - Type 2 just means that it doesn’t manifest at birth or early childhood) got really sick. He went to the doctor who noted some weird stuff going on with his kidneys, but didn’t really follow up on it because the testing on my husband’s insurance plan was REALLY expensive. Unfortunately without those expensive tests, no one realized that he was actually experiencing intermittent kidney failure, not just a prolonged bout of the flu. He was seriously ill off and on for several months, so his employer fired him. He lost his health insurance.
We had already decided that we were going to enroll him in my company’s far superior health insurance anyway, so I had done that during Open Enrollment in October… but the coverage would not go into effect until January 1st. We were offered COBRA coverage (look it up if you don’t know what that is) for an amount slightly larger than his (former) bi-weekly income, so obviously we couldn’t begin to afford it. He was looking for work but that’s a whole other kettle of fish….
Anyway - we decided to go see his family in another part of our state for Thanksgiving. He was very sick at this point and we still didn’t know what was wrong. One the way back home, we stopped at a half-way point to visit our best friends and force my husband to go see a doctor because, quite honestly, he was scaring us.
We got him into one of those Doc-in-a-Box places at a nearby pharmacy and for the $150 (because… no insurance) she took his temperature (high), listened to his heart (pounding but oddly muffled), measured his pulse-ox with a finger clip (severely low) and told us that either she had to call 911, or we had to swear to take him to the emergency department at the hospital down the block.
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At the hospital they ran his bloodwork TWICE because it was so horrible that the first time they thought the machine was broken! He was in full kidney failure and was, literally, dying. The doctors told me that they had never seen a “living patient” with bloodwork results like this, much less one who walked in on his own two feet! He was taken away to the ICU where he underwent 24 hours of emergency dialysis. They wouldn’t let me stay with him because they kept having to shock him to keep his heart going. I was told to prepare myself because they were sure he was not going to live through this.
He spent a week in the ICU and then another 2 weeks in a step-down unit preparing to go home. They could not release him until they had him set up for dialysis with a local center, but with no insurance he had to rely on “indigent/charity care” until January 1st… and the local centers did not want to take him! Meanwhile, I’m on extended leave from my job - thank goodness my work cared more about US and my having income and a job to come home to than about my not showing up for a few weeks!
We were finally able to come home about a week before Christmas, but it doesn’t stop there. We applied for every discount, charity, agency funding, government agency, church charity, etc that anyone could think of. The hospital that had taken care of him determined that since the previous year (when we were both working) we made more than the government determined poverty line, we were not eligible for anything but the slimmest of discounts. In fact, that’s pretty much how it went everywhere we turned - your CURRENT financial situation is irrelevant. The only thing that matters to any of these people is what is on your previous year’s tax return. It’s how they get to say they offer all these programs without actually have to give much out at all. In order to even get him looked at in the ER, I had to pay $1500 on my credit card. I paid a number of charges while he was in the hospital as well. Upon leaving the hospital we were presented with a $250,000.00+ bill and were informed that there would be additional bills coming. Oh, and Merry Christmas!
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The charity/indigent care dialysis? He had to have it three times a week, every week, or he would die and it was billed at the “highly reduced rate” of $1000 per session. We racked up over $10,000 in diaysis bills before the insurance coverage finally kicked in. Then there was the $1500 worth of no-insurance prescriptions that we had to buy out of pocket.
Of course, the new insurance isn’t going to touch bills from before he had coverage. He automatically qualified for Medicare, but it takes about 6 months before that coverage finally kicks in and they also won’t touch anything from prior to your having coverage. He also automatically qualified for Social Security Disability payments, but they don’t begin paying out until the seventh month AFTER you have been ruled to qualify. Those were only $1200 a month anyway - less than half his prior income. And, of course, as a dialysis patient he’s constantly sick and cannot work. The rest of the bills from the hospital came in and, counting the dialysis bills and the doctors checkups and stuff he had to have now, we were now sitting on over $500,000 of medical debt. I make $45,000 a year. AND they sent it all to collections.
We ended up having to declare bankruptcy. We lost our home that he had bought years before we were even married, but which we were still paying a mortgage on. We lost one of our cars. We lost our retirement savings. Thankfully my job has a pension plan so they couldn’t touch that, but all the other accounts went. Our friends ran a Go Fund Me to raise enough money for us to move into a small student apartment in one of the older apartment complexes in our area. THAT is a real story of what the American health care system is really like.
A few years later my husband received a kidney transplant from a donor kidney and he has been back at work for a couple years now. We worked hard and were diligent about paying things off and fixing our credit. We just bought a house last summer, and I now have a small, cheap car of my own so we can both drive ourselves to work instead of one of us spending hours each day on buses, or the other person having to do extra driving and sitting around. We are finally back to where we were before all this happened and feel like our lives are finally heading in the right directly again. Sadly, this time it’s at the ages of 51 and 55, so we can never truly catch back up to where we should be at this point in our lives. Retirement seems like more of a fantasy than a reality, but it is what it is.
Source: https://qr.ae/TlwqMp
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My health insurance is reasonable. $600 deductible per person in my family then 80/20. God bless Trump and America. Libtards please remove yourselves from this Country.
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I'm an avid Quora reader, and this topic keeps popping up on my feed almost every day. Sure, Quora is pretty much a liberal website, and algorithms show you what you're more likely to read, but still.
Do most of you feel the same about US healthcare?
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My health insurance is reasonable. $600 deductible per person in my family then 80/20. God bless Trump and America. Libtards please remove yourselves from this Country.
Don't feel atacked. I just want to hear opinions about this topic.
Have you ever had the need of using your insurance?
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Don't feel atacked. I just want to hear opinions about this topic.
Have you ever had the need of using your insurance?
I use it often as I am proactive about my health.
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From what I've seen the prices of a lot of their medication is ridiculously high compared to other countries.
For the exact same product from the same company, with identical packaging in another country.
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I pay $2-$10 for generic prescriptions, $3,500 max out of pocket and am pretty much covered on everything. Me my wife and kids are about $1,200 month.
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That´s pretty cheap for the whole family. 1.7 k goes straight from my paycheck [germany] insurance-wise. It´s healthcare + national insurance, taxes come on top.
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Does staying healthy reduce costs and does visiting the Doctor more often push up the cost of insurance?
If I was paying those sums for healthcare I think I would feel compelled to seek treatment for every minor ailment.
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No, it´s a fixed amount that just varies by income. On the bright side, besides some diagnostics, meds, and dental everything is included.
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Lol....People fly in from all around the World to get procedures done and use American health care...Probably the most advanced in the World.
And the poor and illegal get free healthcare at any emergency room in the country, per our laws...
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I'm an avid Quora reader, and this topic keeps popping up on my feed almost every day. Sure, Quora is pretty much a liberal website, and algorithms show you what you're more likely to read, but still.
Do most of you feel the same about US healthcare?
I argue with libs on Quora everyday. ;D
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It is possible to get caught with a huge bill like the family in the article if you have no insurance or use hospitals and doctors that do not participate in your current insurance plan.
What happened in this case? No coverage.
Hospital costs are super high in the USA. You must have health insurance or very deep pockets.
You also need to have funds available for deductibles which can be high depending on your plan. Some low cost plans have $7,500-$10,000 deductibles.
Here's a real life example of the high cost. My sister has serious heart problems. 15% function. There was a advanced treatment available at a specific hospital.
Cost: $1,000,000+. I kid you not.
Unfortunately, my sister's health insurance could not be used at this hospital. She chose a lower cost plan that could only use hospitals in a specific area.
Regardless, my sister has recovered quite well and her heart has now achieved 30% function.
Have a nice day!
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The whole topic has been a good read and has opened my eyes regarding the expense and problems within the US medical 'situation'.
I are dum about this subject because I served a good part of my younger years in the US military and have only paid for minor medical expenses when I was too damn dumb to realize that I had VA medical privileges which I had not taken advantage of for approximately 25+ years.
Once I signed up and was fully covered by the VA, I came down with pneumonia and remained hospitalize for close to two weeks.
I never did see that bill but I am guessing that someone paid $80,000 + for that two week, hospital vacation.
So if anyone out there is old enough to carry a weapon and shoot at the bad guys .... I recommend that you consider free VA membership and full-on medical coverage by signing up for a three year tour which will more than likely save you a large amount of cash ... as well as your lively-hood when and if you reach your elder years.
And one last thing .... I know shit about med insurance until I realized that I now have Medicare insurance after some grey haired lady knocked on my door to explain my Medicare plan ......
We were both surprised when we discovered that I personally have the BEST MED PLAN that has ever been offered in the US of A and would be impossible to improve
And all this civilian med stuff as mentioned above including all and any drugs are gratis because it was paid for years ago and I don't recall paying a cent ... because it must have been so damn cheap.
I could go and have a hew heart transplant today and be celebrating in a casino tomorrow .... and never see a bill of any kind even though I have never given a thought nor had a plan regarding medical insurance of any kind ... Until I needed it .... And only then did I discover that I had it!
Definitely a life-long dumb situation in which 'dum-ness' paid off exceptionally well!
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Lol....People fly in from all around the World to get procedures done and use American health care...Probably the most advanced in the World.
And the poor and illegal get free healthcare at any emergency room in the country, per our laws...
This
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The US healthcare system is the most advanced in the world and the vast majority of the world's medical advances come out of the US.
BUT: The US has HORRIBLE health care outcomes within our own population, with ENORMOUS COSTS compared to other developed nations. Consider these outcome and cost factors cited in a prior getbig post:
Profits and over complicated administrative procedures of our insurance companies
Fancy hospital construction, all the hospital systems competing with each other for affluent suburban patients
Litigation, we are lawsuit crazy
Obesity and poor eating and no exercise, we go everywhere in our cars
Poverty and associated poor health outcomes and habits in those communities
More procedure response to EVERYTHING, we want to live forever and our doctors go along with it (also because of lawsuit factor above) and television advertising plays a role
Drug prices, we subsidize the whole world. We and our insurers pay top dollars for drugs, while all the other governments around the world force the drug companies to accept lower prices
Addiction, we may have a worse problem than others
Our doctors make more money than other doctors around the world, mainly specialists
Fraud: people in the US are more likely to fraudulently game the system. The government bureaucracies and, to some extent, insurers are not effective in combating fraud.
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The US healthcare system is the most advanced in the world and the vast majority of the world's medical advances come out of the US.
BUT: The US has HORRIBLE health care outcomes within our own population, with ENORMOUS COSTS compared to other developed nations. Consider these outcome and cost factors cited in a prior getbig post:
Profits and over complicated administrative procedures of our insurance companies
Fancy hospital construction, all the hospital systems competing with each other for affluent suburban patients
Litigation, we are lawsuit crazy
Obesity and poor eating and no exercise, we go everywhere in our cars
Poverty and associated poor health outcomes and habits in those communities
More procedure response to EVERYTHING, we want to live forever and our doctors go along with it (also because of lawsuit factor above) and television advertising plays a role
Drug prices, we subsidize the whole world. We and our insurers pay top dollars for drugs, while all the other governments around the world force the drug companies to accept lower prices
Addiction, we may have a worse problem than others
Our doctors make more money than other doctors around the world, mainly specialists
Fraud: people in the US are more likely to fraudulently game the system. The government bureaucracies and, to some extent, insurers are not effective in combating fraud.
Very true.
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Lol....People fly in from all around the World to get procedures done and use American health care...Probably the most advanced in the World.
And the poor and illegal get free healthcare at any emergency room in the country, per our laws...
Exactly. All our hospital items in Canada are produced by American private for-profit corporations.
But as socialistic Canadians, we need to stop allowing corporations to efficiently work to provide us with healthcare! Something that is already happening [and benefits us greatly], but we must stop it!
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It's hilarious to me when leftist Canadians suggest that "socialism" makes our healthcare system great when it is private for-profit corporations that provide everything from the tiniest bar off soap found in a hospital bathroom, to the largest MRI machine used to scan people for systemic wellness or disease.
Also, on a more specific note, according to the World Health Organization [WHO], in their 2000 survey of quality of healthcare worldwide, IIRC, Canada ranked #32 globally, and the USA ranked #33. That's not exactly night and day in terms of difference, and keep in mind that the USA has a large Black population with poor health outcomes [caused by their own behaviour] that brings down the entire American average. And it was still pretty close to the Canadian system in terms of its quality rating.
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The US healthcare system is the most advanced in the world and the vast majority of the world's medical advances come out of the US.
BUT: The US has HORRIBLE health care outcomes within our own population, with ENORMOUS COSTS compared to other developed nations. Consider these outcome and cost factors cited in a prior getbig post:
Profits and over complicated administrative procedures of our insurance companies
Fancy hospital construction, all the hospital systems competing with each other for affluent suburban patients
Litigation, we are lawsuit crazy
Obesity and poor eating and no exercise, we go everywhere in our cars
Poverty and associated poor health outcomes and habits in those communities
More procedure response to EVERYTHING, we want to live forever and our doctors go along with it (also because of lawsuit factor above) and television advertising plays a role
Drug prices, we subsidize the whole world. We and our insurers pay top dollars for drugs, while all the other governments around the world force the drug companies to accept lower prices
Addiction, we may have a worse problem than others
Our doctors make more money than other doctors around the world, mainly specialists
Fraud: people in the US are more likely to fraudulently game the system. The government bureaucracies and, to some extent, insurers are not effective in combating fraud.
Two other things that never get mentioned while comparing the USA to other "advanced countries" [i.e., White-majority countries: the countries of Europe, Australia/NZ, and Canada]:
The USA has a massive Black and Hispanic population in its midst that inevitably gets outcomes much like these two groups get when they are in their respective homelands.
It's not like Canada's Blacks do better under the Canadian healthcare system - it's merely that we don't have a large Black population bringing down the overall average, the way the USA does. It's the same as when people say that the USA has low high school test scores, or high rates of gun violence - yeah, since you are including the Black score in the average, which ultimately has a massive effect on it - bringing DOWN the average high school test score, and bringing UP the gun violence rate.
If you take away the massive Black and Hispanic population, and just look at the result of the healthcare system among WHITE PEOPLE, you will see that the average White person is better off under the American system.
I think there may be an exception to this for the working poor.
I also heard that the American healthcare system is far more expensive than the Canadian healthcare system.
So without a doubt, both systems have their costs and benefits, but the question is somewhat more complicated than one with a black or white answer. For example, a person sitting on welfare in Canada is probably better off than a similarly situated person in the USA. But a person who is middle class like myself, who can afford an insurance policy for myself and my family, is probably better off in the USA.
Any time some dumb Canadian says "Thank God for universal healthcare" in response to another friend getting a biceps tear requiring surgery, or something like that, I'm always like "Uhh...yeah, there's this thing called "insurance" you know..."
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Exactly. All our hospital items in Canada are produced by American private for-profit corporations.
But as socialistic Canadians, we need to stop allowing corporations to efficiently work to provide us with healthcare! Something that is already happening [and benefits us greatly], but we must stop it!
...
It's hilarious to me when leftist Canadians suggest that "socialism" makes our healthcare system great when it is private for-profit corporations that provide everything from the tiniest bar off soap found in a hospital bathroom, to the largest MRI machine used to scan people for systemic wellness or disease.
Also, on a more specific note, according to the World Health Organization [WHO], in their 2000 survey of quality of healthcare worldwide, IIRC, Canada ranked #32 globally, and the USA ranked #33. That's not exactly night and day in terms of difference, and keep in mind that the USA has a large Black population with poor health outcomes [caused by their own behaviour] that brings down the entire American average. And it was still pretty close to the Canadian system in terms of its quality rating.
Blacks bring our numbers down in every category. It's the dirty little secret never discussed. Without the sizable black population the U.S. would be a giant Switzerland.
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Jesus Christ.
You can't make a thread on Getbig without our native idiots turning it into a race thing.
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Jesus Christ.
You can't make a thread on Getbig without our native idiots turning it into a race thing.
The personal choices of Blacks and Hispanics, which result in poorer health outcomes, drastically brings down the impression of quality of the American healthcare system.
Compare that to Canada, where we have a 74% White population, and had a 96% White population in 1971, and 86% White population in 2001, and where most of the data about our healthcare system only assesses the White population. OBVIOUSLY our results are going to look better, without a negative outcome from a massive Black and Hispanic population to drag it down.
Is there a part of these factual statements that you don't understand?
Leftist: "Oh look at the USA, which has a huge Black population. *GASP*: OMGZ, LOOK AT HOW HIGH THE MURDER RATE IS!!!"
Person with common sense: "Yeah...the two are actually related, since young Black males are 3.5% of the American population, but commit 52% of the murder. Young Black males actually commit more murder than the rest of the population of all other races COMBINED. But if you take the Black population out of the picture [and Hispanic population], the USA has the same murder rate as Denmark."
Leftist: "OMGZEvilRacistWhoWants2K ill6MillionJooz!!!11"
Person with common sense: "Oh...meanwhile, I just thought I was stating facts. Sorry!"
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Blacks bring our numbers down in every category. It's the dirty little secret never discussed. Without the sizable black population the U.S. would be a giant Switzerland.
Exactly. Bang on.
Check out the stats of my city anywhere online - Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.
We are consistently the "murder capital of Canada", due solely to murders caused by Indigenous people and, more recently, Black gangs from Toronto and Ottawa.
Meanwhile, if you look at only the White homicide rate, we have roughly the same homicide rate as Denmark, sitting at under 2.0 per 100,000 population per year.
Toronto has recently exceeded New York City in terms of its homicide rate, and this is once again due to "diverse" murders.
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Exactly. Bang on.
Check out the stats of my city anywhere online - Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.
We are consistently the "murder capital of Canada", due solely to murders caused by Indigenous people and, more recently, Black gangs from Toronto and Ottawa.
Meanwhile, if you look at only the White homicide rate, we have roughly the same homicide rate as Denmark, sitting at under 2.0 per 100,000 population per year.
Toronto has recently exceeded New York City in terms of its homicide rate, and this is once again due to "diverse" murders.
It effects education as well. If you take the standardized test scores of Asian Americans they are similar to Asian countries, white Americans similar to white Europeans, blacks similar to African nations. Showing a countries average doesn't tell you much unless it is a homogeneous population.
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The personal choices of Blacks and Hispanics, which result in poorer health outcomes, drastically brings down the impression of quality of the American healthcare system.
Compare that to Canada, where we have a 74% White population, and had a 96% White population in 1971, and 86% White population in 2001, and where most of the data about our healthcare system only assesses the White population. OBVIOUSLY our results are going to look better, without a negative outcome from a massive Black and Hispanic population to drag it down.
Is there a part of these factual statements that you don't understand?
Leftist: "Oh look at the USA, which has a huge Black population. *GASP*: OMGZ, LOOK AT HOW HIGH THE MURDER RATE IS!!!"
Person with common sense: "Yeah...the two are actually related, since young Black males are 3.5% of the American population, but commit 52% of the murder. Young Black males actually commit more murder than the rest of the population of all other races COMBINED. But if you take the Black population out of the picture [and Hispanic population], the USA has the same murder rate as Denmark."
Leftist: "OMGZEvilRacistWhoWants2K ill6MillionJooz!!!11"
Person with common sense: "Oh...meanwhile, I just thought I was stating facts. Sorry!"
No one ever mentioned rankings on this thread. You brought that up and to be honest, I think it's irrelevant to the conversation.
This thread was about how American Getbiggers (and you're not one BTW) perceive their healthcare system.
Do they pay too much? Do they feel they're getting ripped off? The horror stories we hear only happen when there's no insurance? This was about this.
You want facts? You're autistic with no social skills, and are under the impression that every bad thing that's ever happened to mankind is because of non-whites.
Stop polluting my threads with your retarded thoughts.
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healthcare in the USA is awful. just look at the illegitimate POTUS !
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EQNOeRxWoAM9ae3?format=jpg&name=small)
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The minority populations may be a large factor, although Hispanic mortality and morbidity shows a pretty good picture. I don’t have statistics to back it up, but I think the poor outcomes in US relates to all racial categories. Look at West Virginia, for example or Kentucky. Very poor health outcomes in all white settings. The fast food culture, poor eating, lack of exercise syndrome crosses all racial categories in the US. But if you look at affluent white suburban population in certain parts of the country, you might get statistics comparable to Switzerland, for example.
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Its criminal what they, and the insurance companies charge people. Do Dr's need to be millionaires and live like Rock Stars?
Its a job/profession. Maybe make much more than the average since they save lives, but c'mon, ridiculous. (80.00 for an apple juice at the hospital when no insurance is involved).
Again, criminal...
Matt being called out for turning it into race, meanwhile Dearth, Straw like to turn everything into an anti-Trump thread. Like this healthcare stuff just started in 2016. Brain-dead... ::)
Like Ghey Barry's 2.1 Billion dollar health-care website?? You know, the things that normally cost like in the thousands?? Also, pic is shopped Dearth (unlike the one's of your Ma in the Tranny bukakke vids), but nice try...
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Are people exaggerating about the American Healthcare system or is it that bad if you don't have insurance?
Didn't Michael Moore explain this in his movie few years back? American health care is quite good, if you are a millionaire, or you have bullet proof insurance. All other cases it is crap, but as we know, public healthcare is pure communism. It is quite common all of the capitalistic countries all over the western world, but in the USA it is communism. Just like schools, library's, police and fire departments etc. public funded organisations are there. It is filthy communism, period. This is what your government has told you, because health care is quite effective money machine for the elite. It makes billions and billions for the rich minority, while it leave poor people to die with no mercy at all ;D
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The minority populations may be a large factor, although Hispanic mortality and morbidity shows a pretty good picture. I don’t have statistics to back it up, but I think the poor outcomes in US relates to all racial categories. Look at West Virginia, for example or Kentucky. Very poor health outcomes in all white settings. The fast food culture, poor eating, lack of exercise syndrome crosses all racial categories in the US. But if you look at affluent white suburban population in certain parts of the country, you might get statistics comparable to Switzerland, for example.
The healthcare system is not responsible for people's poor lifestyle choices.
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As someone with good healthcare coverage, meaning, I won’t go broke if I need major medical procedures, it’s pretty bad. It’s criminal.
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As someone with good healthcare coverage, meaning, I won’t go broke if I need major medical procedures, it’s pretty bad. It’s criminal.
Perfect way to word it IMO for those of us w/ good insurance. ^^
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Liberals want free health care paid for by the government. The problem is the government has no money. Only the money they take from the workers. Taking money from the workers to give to the slackers is a recipe for disaster.
The way health care works in this country is that you get a good full time job. Your employer pays for health insurance. Those that don't have insurance go to the free medical clinics that are found in every city. Others go to the emergency room.
If you think government can run health care you have never been to the Motor vehicle agency in a city or haven't paid attention in the Iowa Democrat primary vote count. No one in the US runs to England or Canada when they have a severe medical problem. People from Canada and England if they have the means come here for medical attention.
This is where some liberal with a beard and metro glasses pipe in the life expectancy in Cuba is great and no one pays for medical care. The truth is they cook the stats. Very few cars so very few accidents. Cuba only shows their best hospital rooms to the world. In reality their hospitals look like third world dumps lacking in medicines and supplies.
Liberals love hearing free from Democrat candidates. Until they find out how much it will cost them from their pay checks. If you work part time with a college degree living in your mom's house then you want free everything. When the people who vote for a living out number the people that work for living this country will crash.
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Liberals want free health care paid for by the government. The problem is the government has no money. Only the money they take from the workers. Taking money from the workers to give to the slackers is a recipe for disaster.
The way health care works in this country is that you get a good full time job. Your employer pays for health insurance. Those that don't have insurance go to the free medical clinics that are found in every city. Others go to the emergency room.
If you think government can run health care you have never been to the Motor vehicle agency in a city or haven't paid attention in the Iowa Democrat primary vote count. No one in the US runs to England or Canada when they have a severe medical problem. People from Canada and England if they have the means come here for medical attention.
This is where some liberal with a beard and metro glasses pipe in the life expectancy in Cuba is great and no one pays for medical care. The truth is they cook the stats. Very few cars so very few accidents. Cuba only shows their best hospital rooms to the world. In reality their hospitals look like third world dumps lacking in medicines and supplies.
Liberals love hearing free from Democrat candidates. Until they find out how much it will cost them from their pay checks. If you work part time with a college degree living in your mom's house then you want free everything. When the people who vote for a living out number the people that work for living this country will crash.
Truth.
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Liberals want free health care paid for by the government. The problem is the government has no money. Only the money they take from the workers. Taking money from the workers to give to the slackers is a recipe for disaster.
The way health care works in this country is that you get a good full time job. Your employer pays for health insurance. Those that don't have insurance go to the free medical clinics that are found in every city. Others go to the emergency room.
If you think government can run health care you have never been to the Motor vehicle agency in a city or haven't paid attention in the Iowa Democrat primary vote count. No one in the US runs to England or Canada when they have a severe medical problem. People from Canada and England if they have the means come here for medical attention.
This is where some liberal with a beard and metro glasses pipe in the life expectancy in Cuba is great and no one pays for medical care. The truth is they cook the stats. Very few cars so very few accidents. Cuba only shows their best hospital rooms to the world. In reality their hospitals look like third world dumps lacking in medicines and supplies.
Liberals love hearing free from Democrat candidates. Until they find out how much it will cost them from their pay checks. If you work part time with a college degree living in your mom's house then you want free everything. When the people who vote for a living out number the people that work for living this country will crash.
Ok. So why so many countries have a great working public funded health care, and it is working with no problems? And before you start your rant, why USA health care system is ranked so low in comparison of list of the world best health care? There is 12 countries before it in the ranking, two shared placings, but 11th place after countries which all have public funded heath care?
Why people come to USA for the health care? Because most of the other countries you can't buy you new kidneys etc. You have to wait your turn in the waiting list, so these people want to use a ridiculous amount of money instead of waiting something, which they would have free in few years..
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Ok. So why so many countries have a great working public funded health care, and it is working with no problems? And before you start your rant, why USA health care system is ranked so low in comparison of list of the world best health care? There is 12 countries before it in the ranking, two shared placings, but 11th place after countries which all have public funded heath care?
Why people come to USA for the health care? Because most of the other countries you can't buy you new kidneys etc. You have to wait your turn in the waiting list, so these people want to use a ridiculous amount of money instead of waiting something, which they would have free in few years..
After they're dead.
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Ok. So why so many countries have a great working public funded health care, and it is working with no problems? And before you start your rant, why USA health care system is ranked so low in comparison of list of the world best health care? There is 12 countries before it in the ranking, two shared placings, but 11th place after countries which all have public funded heath care?
Why people come to USA for the health care? Because most of the other countries you can't buy you new kidneys etc. You have to wait your turn in the waiting list, so these people want to use a ridiculous amount of money instead of waiting something, which they would have free in few years..
Did you read the previous posts? Obviously not...
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How can ot be as bad as people say when the top health care and innovations usually STEM from the usa?
Google top hospitals in the wod. Most are from gods country!
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The quality of healthcare in the USA is excellent.
But it's expensive and you must have insurance or be wealthy enough to pay yourself.
The destitute go to the emergency room or free clinics.
There are also free medical services provided by Medicare for poor people in some states.
Someone in the middle class without health insurance who goes to a hospital will probably go bankrupt.
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Patients Stuck With Bills After Insurers Don’t Pay As Promised
https://khn.org/news/prior-authorization-revoked-patients-stuck-with-bills-after-insurers-dont-pay-as-promised/
"The more than $34,000 in medical bills that contributed to Darla and Andy Markley’s bankruptcy and loss of their home in Beloit, Wisconsin, grew out of what felt like a broken promise."
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The American system is bad but not for the reason Canadians, Europeans, &
leftists think.
The primary feature of the American system is Employer Based Healthcare.
This did not come from the free market but from a world war 2 price control intervention which capped employee wages. As a workaround employers started offering healthcare as part of the wage package. This was then made non taxable.
Eventually healthcare costs started rising as consumers had no incentive to shop price and providers had no incentive to provide cheap healthcare.
Employer based healthcare is also a low grade form of slavery as your access to healthcare is dependent on your employer, “Job Lock.”
This abomination also created the need for the now bankrupt Medicare system as retired people couldn’t afford healthcare.
To really fix the system you have to gut it and start from scratch. The Republicans don’t have the stomach for it, and the Dems want single payer. So, we’re gonna keep trudging along with this piss poor inefficient system.
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Outcomes are skewed because Americans are fat and lazy. The best healthcare system in the world won't help prevent diabetes, heart disease, and strokes if everyone is eating McDonalds and donuts and watching the Kardashians on TV all day long instead of exercising.
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The American system is bad but not for the reason Canadians, Europeans, &
leftists think.
The primary feature of the American system is Employer Based Healthcare.
This did not come from the free market but from a world war 2 price control intervention which capped employee wages. As a workaround employers started offering healthcare as part of the wage package. This was then made non taxable.
Eventually healthcare costs started rising as consumers had no incentive to shop price and providers had no incentive to provide cheap healthcare.
Employer based healthcare is also a low grade form of slavery as your access to healthcare is dependent on your employer, “Job Lock.”
This abomination also created the need for the now bankrupt Medicare system as retired people couldn’t afford healthcare.
To really fix the system you have to gut it and start from scratch. The Republicans don’t have the stomach for it, and the Dems want single payer. So, we’re gonna keep trudging along with this piss poor inefficient system.
I agree with the statements above. There is not much will to do away with employer based health care even though it creates exactly the anxiety producing “job lock” discussed above. So we will limp along with trying to prop up Obamacare and keep putting the poorest on Medicaid to plug the holes. Obamacare got our uninsured rate down from about 15 percent to 8 percent which is still embarrassing for a developed nation, the richest nation on the planet.
Here is the political reality:
1. Most Americans remain pretty stuck on their employer based coverage despite all the anxiety and costs involved
2. Republicans have offered ZERO solutions other than grandstanding
3. Democrats are torn between continuing to prop up Obamacare or gutting the whole thing and ushering in Medicare For All (which means government financed BUT NOT government provided care. Note: there is no stomach at all in the US for the government actually providing the care because we are too libertarian and, no matter what we may hear about the UK or Canada, etc., we do not believe our own government would do a good job of that).
So we limp along. But keep in mind we still have the most advanced medicine in the world and, as with social media, the majority of medical advancements come from the US.
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its actually worse to have insurance than to have it.
if you pay cash you find out really fast they flat out make up the prices
pay with insurance for mri 5200 insurance pays all if you meet deductable 4500 it used to be 500 prior to obozo care
leaves you paying 700
if you pay cash its 800
i had a nurse tell me under her breath if i paid cash im much better off
bozo obummer ruined things big time
biggest welfare increase ever
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Follow up:
My sister died a couple months ago.
Not of heart failure but cancer.
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its actually worse to have insurance than to have it.
if you pay cash you find out really fast the flat out make up the prices
pay with insurance for mri 5200 insurance pays all if you meet deductable 4500 it used to be 500 prior to obozo care
leaves you paying 700
if you pay cash its 800
i had a nurse tell me under her breath if i paid cash im much better off
bozo obummer ruined things big time
biggest welfare increase ever
Well, the only problem is that having no insurance at all is a one way ticket to bankruptcy if you get into a serious medical situation unless you are already so poor that you are on Medicaid. For example, a $300,000 hospital bill can bankrupt you even if they give you a break and charge you $80,000. Obama’s legislation greatly reduced the occurrence of that type of bankruptcy. But I will agree with you on one point. Despite all the “provider contracting” and negotiation between employers and insurance companies and hospitals and doctors, all three parties actually conspire to keep high levels of money flowing to those involved. Even the employees more or less go along with it.
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one way ticket to banktupcy eh
you actuually believe that?
if im a poor person i get everything free
if im
illegal my bill is zero
baby is born free
indigent= free ride
i pay cash and dont worry about catastrophe
you sound like a insurance salesman
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At this point there are no good solutions. IMO the path of least resistance would be single payer which would inevitably collapse. Then, a true free market system could be instituted.
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one way ticket to banktupcy eh
you actuually believe that?
if im a poor person i get everything free
if im
illegal my bill is zero
baby is born free
indigent= free ride
i pay cash and dont worry about catastrophe
you sound like a insurance salesman
I am guessing you are young and comfortable with risk. If you are old, I have a couple of friends I’ll will introduce you to who barely got on insurance in the nick of time. I am not an insurance salesman, but yes I would be comfortable in that profession.
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At this point there are no good solutions. IMO the path of least resistance would be single payer which would inevitably collapse. Then, a true free market system could be instituted.
Single payer means breaking the link with the employer and it also means eliminating health insurance companies (although the government would probably hire those same companies to do their processing). As with most Americans, I am nervous about taking those steps given how entrenched we are in the current reality. But I am with you in one way but not another. Yes, Single Payer may be the logical and realistic next step. But here’s the difference. You will want it to fail to get to some vague unknown. I would hope that it could succeed.
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I've only had the time to read a couple of the above statements regarding this health insurance topic .... But then I suddenly realize that I've been most fortunate regarding this subject matter. (See the following!)
I cannot ever recall paying one-cent for anything relating to my medical needs .... except for a couple of exceptions in which I had to pay $80 when checking into an Emergency clinic for something unexpected.
And I should add that the monthly medical payments for my medical insurance which was so damn low that I never even paid attention as they were deducted automatically.
My med advantage is/was that I was in the USMC and saw a doc if needed and whenever necessary and which was always free and painless with one exception ... the dreaded hymogoblin shot which leaves a welt on your ass as big as a golf-ball and prevents you from entering any battle-ground until it subsides which was 3 days if I recall.
Nowadays the VA provides all my medical needs including prescriptions and eyeglasses, etc. and/or I can use Medicare as an alternative and never receive any bill for services rendered.
I always forget how fortunate I am until I read or hear medical stories such as many of you GetBiggers have stated above.
So ..... If you're still young enough and have a recurring headache or a toothache, or any bodily ailment that may 'worsen' as time goes by, I strongly suggest that you seek your local recruiter .... and join the Corps and do your best to dodge them bullets that could be heading your way someday!
That's the real and only price you GOTTA pay!
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I am guessing you are young and comfortable with risk. If you are old, I have a couple of friends I’ll will introduce you to who barely got on insurance in the nick of time. I am not an insurance salesman, but yes I would be comfortable in that profession.
i take care of myself and am middle age
i dont look at life the way a insurance salesman does. you would make a fine insurance salesman though
with your, "i know a guy who almost,..... just barely...... made it....
if it weren't for insurance....
people who dont plan financially in life will get the trouble they didnt plan for.
health is number 1
no health, no wealth
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I've only had the time to read a couple of the above statements regarding this health insurance topic .... But then I suddenly realize that I've been most fortunate regarding this subject matter. (See the following!)
I cannot ever recall paying one-cent for anything relating to my medical needs .... except for a couple of exceptions in which I had to pay $80 when checking into an Emergency clinic for something unexpected.
And I should add that the monthly medical payments for my medical insurance which was so damn low that I never even paid attention as they were deducted automatically.
My med advantage is/was that I was in the USMC and saw a doc if needed and whenever necessary and which was always free and painless with one exception ... the dreaded hymogoblin shot which leaves a welt on your ass as big as a golf-ball and prevents you from entering any battle-ground until it subsides which was 3 days if I recall.
Nowadays the VA provides all my medical needs including prescriptions and eyeglasses, etc. and/or I can use Medicare as an alternative and never receive any bill for services rendered.
I always forget how fortunate I am until I read or hear medical stories such as many of you GetBiggers have stated above.
So ..... If you're still young enough and have a recurring headache or a toothache, or any bodily ailment that may 'worsen' as time goes by, I strongly suggest that you seek your local recruiter .... and join the Corps and do your best to dodge them bullets that could be heading your way someday!
That's the real and only price you GOTTA pay!
cant you just go to freemont street and get the best kansas city ribs for 9.99 and throw a few rolls craps and pay for all your insurance needs with the winnings?
seems like a good plan really. especially the ribs
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As a non American if I were to live in the states then the 2 things I'd take more seriously than anything else, and that's my health and making sure I didn't break the law/get arrested/end up in prison.
I'm already pretty careful about my health and we have pretty decent "free" healthcare here, but if I lived in the US I would be borderline OCD about it.
It's mind boggling that so many Americans are happy to be obese and in shitty health given how healthcare works there.
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Single payer means breaking the link with the employer and it also means eliminating health insurance companies (although the government would probably hire those same companies to do their processing). As with most Americans, I am nervous about taking those steps given how entrenched we are in the current reality. But I am with you in one way but not another. Yes, Single Payer may be the logical and realistic next step. But here’s the difference. You will want it to fail to get to some vague unknown. I would hope that it could succeed.
We already have a large government program, Medicare, that takes in, every year, twice the gdp of Sweden, and it’s hopelessly bankrupt. So, pardon me if I lack the confidence of an even bigger government program succeeding.
If you look at every industry in which the US Government is heavily involved the common thread is absurdly high costs: education, healthcare & housing.
The US has by far the biggest government in the history of the world yet to the left it’s still not enough.
You know, it is in the range of possibilities that big government is the problem.
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EPIC, It's possible that I could have done that years ago but now a days those $10
ribs will set ya back at least $22 and that doesn't include those $8 to $12 cocktails that used to cost you nothing nor the $22+ fee that y9u gotta pay to get your car out of the paring lot.
And throw in a couple tosses at the craps table and you'll more that double what the expense of one month's med insurance payment.
I may have been a bit crazy in my younger years, but looking back ....
I'm thankful that I chose dodging bullets
PS.... The Golden Gate no longer serves 99 cent shrimp cocktails.
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i know man im just joking,
i traveled to vegas quite a lot for business and things are so inflated its nuts. it used to be food was low and hotels were expensive
now its the opposite the hotel is cheap but everything else is over the top
they got you trapped and they know it.
the nicest place i stayed at was trump international hotel. i just walked to the mall to eat at the food court and did some shopping as well.
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IMO Vegas’s best days are behind it. Kinda like Hollywood.
Why travel all the way there when you have local “Racinos” around the country?
Market agrees with me:
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Outcomes are skewed because Americans are fat and lazy. The best healthcare system in the world won't help prevent diabetes, heart disease, and strokes if everyone is eating McDonalds and donuts and watching the Kardashians on TV all day long instead of exercising.
Ditto for Canadians. Where I live in Northwestern Ontario, in a territory ranging from the edges of Manitoba to the edges of Quebec [to the west and east, through Ontario], 68% of Canadians are overweight or obese.
It's a North American thing.
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Decent system if you get sick.
-Has ZERO interest in preventing you from getting sick.
-Outrageously overpriced and full of criminals.
-Excellent care for the sick if you’re rich.
-Decent “safety nets” in place for the homeless, penniless and retarded.
-In bed with big pharma. “If you might need a drug, we will give you seven drugs just in case.”
-Don’t depend on them and you’re OK.
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Decent system if you get sick.
-Has ZERO interest in preventing you from getting sick.
-Outrageously overpriced and full of criminals.
-Excellent care for the sick if you’re rich.
-Decent “safety nets” in place for the homeless, penniless and retarded.
-In bed with big pharma. “If you might need a drug, we will give you seven drugs just in case.”
-Don’t depend on them and you’re OK.
Sums it up perfectly!
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Decent system if you get sick.
-Has ZERO interest in preventing you from getting sick.
-Outrageously overpriced and full of criminals.
-Excellent care for the sick if you’re rich.
-Decent “safety nets” in place for the homeless, penniless and retarded.
-In bed with big pharma. “If you might need a drug, we will give you seven drugs just in case.”
-Don’t depend on them and you’re OK.
Will probably never get changed in our lifetime. Too many people making big bucks from the current medical industrial complex.
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Jesus Christ.
You can't make a thread on Getbig without our native idiots turning it into a race thing.
It’s realist……..not racist. One can look at the stats without hating the color.
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The US pays more for healthcare than ANY other developed country, all while receiving middling outcomes. We are also the only developed country without some type of universal healthcare. Not a coincidence.
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The US pays more for healthcare than ANY other developed country, all while receiving middling outcomes. We are also the only developed country without some type of universal healthcare. Not a coincidence.
We have a government program, Medicare, that is larger than the GDP of most countries.
I explained what’s wrong with the US system in a previous post: the idiotic employer based healthcare system. No other developed country has that either.
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one way ticket to banktupcy eh
you actuually believe that?
if im a poor person i get everything free
if im
illegal my bill is zero
baby is born free
indigent= free ride
i pay cash and dont worry about catastrophe
you sound like a insurance salesman
Do wear a seat belt?
Do you have full coverage on your car?
Do you realize the percentage you of bankruptcies due to medical bills?
Good for you that you have a system that works, but don’t act you looks what you’re doing is the norm and would work for everyone when the average American has less than a weeks worth of a paycheck in the bank.
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It’s a combination of unhealthy people with zero personal accountable and crooked doctors over-billing insurance companies.
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It’s a combination of unhealthy people with zero personal accountable and crooked doctors over-billing insurance companies.
And those are bad things?
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And those are bad things?
I would say so.
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Do wear a seat belt?
Do you have full coverage on your car?
Do you realize the percentage you of bankruptcies due to medical bills?
Good for you that you have a system that works, but don’t act you looks what you’re doing is the norm and would work for everyone when the average American has less than a weeks worth of a paycheck in the bank.
i wear a seat belt, and have insurance because the lawmakers force me into doing contractual business with a private company which should be illegal itself
or else i woulnt
the jig is up on healthcare since obozo
if people let it bankrupt them they are morons.
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Thanks Obamacare!