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Six…I think that’s exactly why Congress is generally not seen as being too concerned about this issue…they have among the best coverage in the country. It’s always easy to not be concerned about an issue that doesn’t directly affect you.
The new proposed health plan is not addressing much of what is currently ailing the medical industry.
First off, this new plan mentions nothing of Tort reform, this has been a cornerstone of health care reform elsewhere.
In the UK, although they have a flawed system as well, there is a loser pays law, if you sue the doctor and lose you pay all costs.
This has effectively stopped much of the frivilous litigation which has caused all the cost increases associated with defensive medicine.
Insurance industry reform is next. HMO’s don’t work, they were shoved into medicine in the 90’s and have only managed to make health insurance companies rich at the expense of doctor’s whose fees have steadily eroded by medicare mandate, increased insurance costs and corrupt company regulations that force doctor’s to sign the dotted line or lose their patient base.
Malpractic costs are out of control because of the prevailing idea among society that because someone gets a stubbed toe, they are somehow entitled to a 300,000 dollar settlement. Why do you think lawyers want to try all medical cases in the Bronx? That has to stop.
next, the government has to allow insurers to compete, not with a national plan, but with each other across state borders. Right now I can’t apply for a well managed plan in Oklahoma because blue cross blue shield in NY has lobbied against competition.
Correct these few things and see how affordable healthcare becomes. increase the patient load on doctors, decrease their pay and see how fast we turn into the third world.
Oh, and by the way, that same surgeon didn’t charge me for his services because I was uninsured – having been living in the UK & not needing it. He did similarly for other people.
One thing that always amazes me at the doctor’s office is how much paperwork there is! Administrative costs could be dramatically reduced if we had a more rational system of health care recordkeeping.
The members of Congress have one of the best health care insurance systems in the country – as I understand it they get X amount of money (I forget how much) and can buy any insurance they want. Sounds good to me. Why can’t that be expanded? There are a large number of uninsured and lower-income folks out there – surely someone would see a business opportunity. If they’re given X amount of money to buy health insurance, someone would find a good policy for X (hopefully focusing on basic preventive care).
Legion, I’m not offended at all. And there was no societal indictment in my response to you. I’m far too easy-breezy to get offended over this 🙂 The point really is that my friend is not the exception to the rule. There are tons more people like her, and more people in even worse situations. Pack up and move to another state? Let’s just go ahead and say ‘poor folks who can’t afford independent health insurance can’t live in NYC.’ That’s what your statement boils down to. She is dealing with the hand she’s been dealt. she struggles, but she deals. I don’t know for sure that a nationalized healthcare system is the answer to such problems. And you don’t know for sure that it isn’t. I would simply suggest that there has to be a better way than telling folks to dump their job and try to collect SSD or to move out of NY state.
Back in 1970 my cancer surgeon told me he worked a third of the year for the gov’t, a third for malpractice insurance, he did volunteer work in India for a month a year & lived on the rest. Internationally known doctor living a straight middle-class lifestyle. Malpractice insurance & frivolous lawsuits are the real drivers of price – very few doctors are ever sued but they all pay the penalty. Typically, the same doctors are sued time & again – to some extent it’s been shown to be a result of abrasive personality traits. Just this week a study came out saying that suits were often dropped if a doctor just explained & apologized! We really need malpractice insurance reform as much as health insurance reform.
“medicine offers both a respectable career, offers near 100% employment and pays a huge amount (not at the beginning, admittedly). I wonder if we’d have the same doctors if the salaries were more moderate.”
Dittoburg, teaching offers nearly guaranteed employment and pays far less than medicine. Do we really want our doctors to be more like our teachers in terms of qualifications, etc.? Ed schools routinely get the least qualified students by most standard measures. Of course this isn’t universal, but you know what I mean.
I don’t think many people go into medicine or teaching or any career for altruistic reasons – they do it because they love their work and derive personal satisfaction from it.
Very true Dave. I think there are some lawyers who should be put in jail behind some of the lawsuits they bring. It will never happen, but one way to make folks think is that if they sue a doc for malpractice and the claim is found to be utterly baseless, they should have to pay the doc’s legal fees and his malpractice insurance for a year.
Six…I think that’s exactly why Congress is generally not seen as being too concerned about this issue…they have among the best coverage in the country. It’s always easy to not be concerned about an issue that doesn’t directly affect you.
The new proposed health plan is not addressing much of what is currently ailing the medical industry.
First off, this new plan mentions nothing of Tort reform, this has been a cornerstone of health care reform elsewhere.
In the UK, although they have a flawed system as well, there is a loser pays law, if you sue the doctor and lose you pay all costs.
This has effectively stopped much of the frivilous litigation which has caused all the cost increases associated with defensive medicine.
Insurance industry reform is next. HMO’s don’t work, they were shoved into medicine in the 90’s and have only managed to make health insurance companies rich at the expense of doctor’s whose fees have steadily eroded by medicare mandate, increased insurance costs and corrupt company regulations that force doctor’s to sign the dotted line or lose their patient base.
Malpractic costs are out of control because of the prevailing idea among society that because someone gets a stubbed toe, they are somehow entitled to a 300,000 dollar settlement. Why do you think lawyers want to try all medical cases in the Bronx? That has to stop.
next, the government has to allow insurers to compete, not with a national plan, but with each other across state borders. Right now I can’t apply for a well managed plan in Oklahoma because blue cross blue shield in NY has lobbied against competition.
Correct these few things and see how affordable healthcare becomes. increase the patient load on doctors, decrease their pay and see how fast we turn into the third world.
cobbles loves snarky right back!
Oh, and by the way, that same surgeon didn’t charge me for his services because I was uninsured – having been living in the UK & not needing it. He did similarly for other people.
One thing that always amazes me at the doctor’s office is how much paperwork there is! Administrative costs could be dramatically reduced if we had a more rational system of health care recordkeeping.
The members of Congress have one of the best health care insurance systems in the country – as I understand it they get X amount of money (I forget how much) and can buy any insurance they want. Sounds good to me. Why can’t that be expanded? There are a large number of uninsured and lower-income folks out there – surely someone would see a business opportunity. If they’re given X amount of money to buy health insurance, someone would find a good policy for X (hopefully focusing on basic preventive care).
Legion, I’m not offended at all. And there was no societal indictment in my response to you. I’m far too easy-breezy to get offended over this 🙂 The point really is that my friend is not the exception to the rule. There are tons more people like her, and more people in even worse situations. Pack up and move to another state? Let’s just go ahead and say ‘poor folks who can’t afford independent health insurance can’t live in NYC.’ That’s what your statement boils down to. She is dealing with the hand she’s been dealt. she struggles, but she deals. I don’t know for sure that a nationalized healthcare system is the answer to such problems. And you don’t know for sure that it isn’t. I would simply suggest that there has to be a better way than telling folks to dump their job and try to collect SSD or to move out of NY state.
Back in 1970 my cancer surgeon told me he worked a third of the year for the gov’t, a third for malpractice insurance, he did volunteer work in India for a month a year & lived on the rest. Internationally known doctor living a straight middle-class lifestyle. Malpractice insurance & frivolous lawsuits are the real drivers of price – very few doctors are ever sued but they all pay the penalty. Typically, the same doctors are sued time & again – to some extent it’s been shown to be a result of abrasive personality traits. Just this week a study came out saying that suits were often dropped if a doctor just explained & apologized! We really need malpractice insurance reform as much as health insurance reform.
“medicine offers both a respectable career, offers near 100% employment and pays a huge amount (not at the beginning, admittedly). I wonder if we’d have the same doctors if the salaries were more moderate.”
Dittoburg, teaching offers nearly guaranteed employment and pays far less than medicine. Do we really want our doctors to be more like our teachers in terms of qualifications, etc.? Ed schools routinely get the least qualified students by most standard measures. Of course this isn’t universal, but you know what I mean.
I don’t think many people go into medicine or teaching or any career for altruistic reasons – they do it because they love their work and derive personal satisfaction from it.
– a teacher
Very true Dave. I think there are some lawyers who should be put in jail behind some of the lawsuits they bring. It will never happen, but one way to make folks think is that if they sue a doc for malpractice and the claim is found to be utterly baseless, they should have to pay the doc’s legal fees and his malpractice insurance for a year.