How could healthcare be this inflated?

[danybug]

I was just looking online at our Healthcare claims and it is just shocking. Some of you may remember when my ds was in the hospital a few weeks ago for surgery on an abscess. The billed cost for JUST the Children's Hospital was $34,800. That is not including a single doctors care, surgeon, anesthesia, surgery, or extras. It's just insane.

 

And a few weeks before my dd had a few treatments of some kind of wart killing liquid applied to her neck at a skin doctor to get rid of a tiny wart virus. The final bill for that was almost $700. Really?

 

I am just so disillusioned with how healthcare costs could really be this inflated. When is anything ever going to be done to change this? I realize all of the intricacies and tons of variables, but come on. Who can't see that it needs to be completely overhauled?

 

I am SURE this thread will some how get shut down, but I just wanted to vent my frustration.

[*********]

Danielle, I'm so with you. I don't know anything about the hows or whys, but healthcare is so INSANELY expensive!

 

Dh was just lamenting the other day when he had a follow-up visit with a specialist. He kept saying, "I paid $45 for literally 3 minutes of the doctor's time!" And $45 is just our co-pay; the doctor will also see a nice sum from our insurance as well.

 

I tried to remind him that the $45 we paid doesn't just pay for the doctor's three minutes of time, it also pays for staff, facilities, malpractice insurance, etc., and that it was money well spent to understand what we should do next for dh's treatment. He gave me this. :glare:

 

:D

[Pink Fairy]

It reminds me of the housing bubble, and I wonder what's going to happen when it pops. :(

[Julie in Austin]

Ds broke his arm this summer. ER bill (we were there about 2 hours; they set the bone and put a splint on it) was 16K. It said that if we did not have insurance and paid right then, they would take 30% off.

 

We have insurance. They negotiated it down to about 4K (they paid 80% of that, we did 20%).

 

I spent a long time thinking about this. It seems to be taking advantage of people who don't have insurance and don't pay right away--they are the ones who would be stuck paying 16K.

 

I would have been deeply angry if we didn't have insurance and I had to pay the 16K or even 16K-30%, knowing that people with insurance were only paying 4K.

 

It just doesn't seem fair.

[Tmhearn]

When my ds was born 4 years ago, I had an unmediated water birth with a midwife (who was there for about 15 minutes before the birth and 30 minutes after). We stayed in the hospital 1 night. My ds received no vaccinations. The bill was $20,000 for both of us!

[EKS]

This is what happens when most people don't pay for their own healthcare. They don't even know how much things cost and they don't shop around. Case in point: I just realized how much my son's medication costs because the insurance pays for everything but $15. Back a few years ago when we had individual insurance and no prescription coverage, my son would not be taking this medication because of the cost.

 

Insurance companies have clout, so they contract with the providers for a (much) reduced cost. Individuals don't have that privilege.

 

The system is broken.

[celticmom]

It reminds me of the housing bubble, and I wonder what's going to happen when it pops. :(

 

:iagree:

[wormbuy]

The hospital/doctors negotiate with the insurance company to receive a percentage of what is charged. Much is based on what Medicare will pay. So yes, the self pay patients are the ones who end up paying the most (or not paying at all). I agree it is crazy, they should be able to charge a reasonable charge and expect to be paid that, not a small percentage of the charge.

[jennsmile]

I use Dr. Madrigal Dersch.

 

She is awesome. I called her on the weekend recently and she told me how to handle my 3 yo smashed pinky vs rushing to ER.

[Tanya in KS]

I agree the healthcare industry is wrong! Our daughter completed a stem cell transplant this spring for her relapsed cancer. Finally got the "bill" (statement from insurance company). I was AMAZED!!!! She was in the hospital - isolation unit for 45 days...Total bill was $445,000!!!!! Thankfully, so far insurance has covered ALL!!! But I wonder...what if we couldn't pay - would my daughter have had to die then???? Just doesn't seem fair. It is a system that needs to be corrected. It frightens me greatly at times too when I have to open the mailbox & see what insurance has/has not paid for my little girl's journey thru cancer.

 

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/ourbanana

[Virg]

My son's blood work that found his bizarre autoimmune disease a month ago cost the insurance 3500. For blood work. I can't imagine what it would have cost us. I know the test is odd, involving spinning out serum and re-injecting serum into the blood, but still!

[Bluegoat]

My step-dad is a GP. He had a patient a few years ago who had to be treated while traveling in the US, and the bill came to over $10,000. He said the same procedure here would have cost the system about $2000.

[Mothersweets]

About 15 years ago my father was traveling through Malaysia and got very sick. He ended up in the local hospital for about 5 days. Guess how much it cost him?

 

 

 

 

 

$125.00 US total. He said he was stunned - and it wasn't his co-pay or anything like that. The ENTIRE bill was $125.00. He said the doctors and nurses were all extremely professional, well-trained, etc. and the hospital itself was spotless and modern.

 

 

Pretty amazing, I think, and it really says something about our health care system and how screwed up it is.

[Amy1k]

I don't know, but it is frustrating. :( My son saw his pediatrician for something a couple of months ago. She told us that due to his symptoms he needed to be seen in the emergency room right away. We went there and they did lots of tests including an MRI. They found nothing wrong. The bill was $25,000. They knocked off a lot before our insurance paid, but now we are fighting with our insurance company about $2000 of it. They believe that we went to the ER for a non-ER problem and want us to pay co-insurance. Our insurance covers ER visits completely except for a $50 copay. I'm mind-boggled.

[Amy1k]

Anyway, I told that story and meant to add that I think the inflation has something to do with everyone being concerned with getting their "share." The insurance company cut the hospital some slack, but apparently want to fight with me, the consumer. :(

[farouk]

I think the whole system leaves a lot to be desired, the way ppl can get into such debt, with health costs.

 

Personally, I think the way it's done in Canada could offer some good lessons to the US.

[astrid]

I agree the healthcare industry is wrong! Our daughter completed a stem cell transplant this spring for her relapsed cancer. Finally got the "bill" (statement from insurance company). I was AMAZED!!!! She was in the hospital - isolation unit for 45 days...Total bill was $445,000!!!!! Thankfully, so far insurance has covered ALL!!! But I wonder...what if we couldn't pay - would my daughter have had to die then???? Just doesn't seem fair. It is a system that needs to be corrected. It frightens me greatly at times too when I have to open the mailbox & see what insurance has/has not paid for my little girl's journey thru cancer.

 

www.caringbridge.org/visit/ourbanana

 

Yes. Yes, she would. Children, adults and the elderly die every day because they cannot afford treatment. Some women on this board are facing this. It sickens me.

 

so sorry your family is walking this path. :grouphug::grouphug:

 

astrid

[TracyR]

Oh I hear ya.

My youngest has many health issues. We have medical equipment and she is on specialized formula.

Just her formula is almost $1,000 per month.

That doesn't include all the supplies that we get monthly, diapers, catheters, lube for the catheters, saline, 60ml syringes, feeding bags, foley catheters , gloves, etc. Costs another few thousand per month. Just to think she'll be having surgery this summer and we'll be adding to more of those supplies. Ugh.

Doesn't include her 5 surgeries she's had so far, not to mention she'll be having a whopper of a surgery this month a kidney removal/bladderneck reconstruction,Mitrofanoff/Malone surgery. I can't imagine what our bill will look like then. Thankfully our insurance covers surgeries. Just doesn't cover the cost of traveling, hotel , gas, food. Or the glycerine ( its expensive stuff) I need for her enemas everyday either.

I've seen the numbers and they are scary.

 

I also have thyroid disease and need to see better doctors because the ones that my insurance covers are total idiots. So in the meantime I'm suffering until I can figure out a way to get some money. So yes, it happens everyday.

[Pretty in Pink]

I agree the healthcare industry is wrong! Our daughter completed a stem cell transplant this spring for her relapsed cancer. Finally got the "bill" (statement from insurance company). I was AMAZED!!!! She was in the hospital - isolation unit for 45 days...Total bill was $445,000!!!!! Thankfully, so far insurance has covered ALL!!! But I wonder...what if we couldn't pay - would my daughter have had to die then???? Just doesn't seem fair. It is a system that needs to be corrected. It frightens me greatly at times too when I have to open the mailbox & see what insurance has/has not paid for my little girl's journey thru cancer.

 

www.caringbridge.org/visit/ourbanana

 

:grouphug: I am sorry that your daughter had a relapse. I hope things are looking better for her now.

 

Our insurance company sent us the statement for our daughter's delivery from this past fall. I had an unmedicated labor/delivery and the midwife wasn't even in the room when baby was born -- not because she was with another patient, but because she didn't believe me when I said that I had to push, but anyway...

 

that bill was in excess of 15,000.00. Good grief.

[farouk]

PS: Part of the prob. is insurance companies with their 'pre-existing condition' opt-out. Like if a spouse having cancer treatment is being funded by one's spouse's work insurance and then the spouse loses the job, then the cancer treatment is still needed, but the insurance co. would say, no new policy coverage because it's a pre-existing condition.

 

Whereas in Canada it would continue under the relevant Province's health insurance scheme, work or no work, job or no job.

 

But it's hard to expect the private sector to act against its own business interests unless a level of government is there to enforce it.

 

(My two cents', anyway.)

Edited January 3, 2012 by farouk
typo

[venusmom]

This is killing us too...took my daughter to the doc when she fell this summer and suffered a deep cut in a bit of a bad spot...she was talking to a friend and one foot slipped off into the pool while the other stayed on the edge of the pool so she straddled the concrete. All the doc did was walk in the room take a quick peek (thankfully - cause she was so embarrassed), announce it was completely superficial and though it was deep it would heal find on it's own. He left the room and we went home...he was in the room nearly 15 seconds tops...but our bill was nearly $1,00.00. And the only thing he even had to do was give her a pat on the knee and tell her it was completely fine - no worries. Granted - I'm amazingly thankful it wasn't a dangerous thing (we could not tell where the cut was bleeding from when we decided to take her)...but my goodness - what a bill - it will take forever to pay my part, which for some unknown reason always ends up being more than double my 'ER copay' due to some jargon the insurance company always reads off like "maximum allowable" and "preferred premium price by the president" or something!! Haha...Even so - without insurance, we'd be sunk - but it's reached a point when my heart breaks for those without it and I'm struggling hard to be thankful for it because of the horrendous premiums and copays! Ugh :glare:

[farouk]

This is killing us too...took my daughter to the doc when she fell this summer and suffered a deep cut in a bit of a bad spot...she was talking to a friend and one foot slipped off into the pool while the other stayed on the edge of the pool so she straddled the concrete. All the doc did was walk in the room take a quick peek (thankfully - cause she was so embarrassed), announce it was completely superficial and though it was deep it would heal find on it's own. He left the room and we went home...he was in the room nearly 15 seconds tops...but our bill was nearly $1,00.00. And the only thing he even had to do was give her a pat on the knee and tell her it was completely fine - no worries. Granted - I'm amazingly thankful it wasn't a dangerous thing (we could not tell where the cut was bleeding from when we decided to take her)...but my goodness - what a bill - it will take forever to pay my part, which for some unknown reason always ends up being more than double my 'ER copay' due to some jargon the insurance company always reads off like "maximum allowable" and "preferred premium price by the president" or something!! Haha...Even so - without insurance, we'd be sunk - but it's reached a point when my heart breaks for those without it and I'm struggling hard to be thankful for it because of the horrendous premiums and copays! Ugh :glare:

venusmom:

 

Yes, exactly; it's a terrible situation.

[kalanamak]

NPR had a 3.5 minute section on this today:

 

http://www.npr.org/2012/01/02/144591018/physicians-group-weigh-costs-in-treating-patients

[Mommy22alyns]

Almost 7 years ago, our bill for 4 weeks of me in the hospital on bedrest, my C-section with Sylvia, and all her post-birth care was over $50,000. And she was never in the NICU. I'm not surprised at all, but I agree - it's downright shocking.

[danybug]

I know there are so many similar stories out there that are probably so sad and scary. I just find it really discouraging. I mean there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel. How could the entire system be restarted and set back to standards that are reasonable and comparable to others? It is such a broken system and I do not think the government (Republican or Democrat) will ever get a handle on it.

 

I know we are blessed to have health insurance and to have a large portion "paid" for. I just can't believe that we will still owe more than the total care would be in say Canada.

[farouk]

Almost 7 years ago, our bill for 4 weeks of me in the hospital on bedrest, my C-section with Sylvia, and all her post-birth care was over $50,000. And she was never in the NICU. I'm not surprised at all, but I agree - it's downright shocking.

 

M22: Yes, it's terrible. For even very conservative ppl, I reckon that someone who really offered a comprehensive nationally-funded system (as opposed to businesses acting in their own interests to decline coverage to ppl with 'pre-existing conditions'), someone running for President on this single issue would probably be very attractive. (But anyway, this isn't how it was done in Canada; there; the Provinces have comprehensive systems.)

[ElizaG]

I know we are blessed to have health insurance and to have a large portion "paid" for. I just can't believe that we will still owe more than the total care would be in say Canada.

I remember reading an article about how American hospitals set their fees. The bills for similar procedures will vary widely from one hospital to the next, and they pretty much never reflect the actual cost of the procedures. For one thing, they overcharge people who can pay (or whose insurance can pay), in order to balance out the ones whose care ends up being written off. Also, the profits from high-tech, high-volume procedures -- such as NICU and cardiac surgery -- go to subsidize other departments that are equally important but not as flashy or profitable, such as gastroenterology. It all seems a bit crazy... like it's held together with bandage tape and twine... but that's how it is.

 

FWIW, I'm from Canada and have family there, and I wouldn't say that their health care system is better overall. Both the Canadian and US systems have their strong points. They both also have a distressing number of people whose situations fall between the cracks. :(

[farouk]

I remember reading an article about how American hospitals set their fees. The bills for similar procedures will vary widely from one hospital to the next, and they pretty much never reflect the actual cost of the procedures. For one thing, they overcharge people who can pay (or whose insurance can pay), in order to balance out the ones whose care ends up being written off. Also, the profits from high-tech, high-volume procedures -- such as NICU and cardiac surgery -- go to subsidize other departments that are equally important but not as flashy or profitable, such as gastroenterology. It all seems a bit crazy... like it's held together with bandage tape and twine... but that's how it is.

 

FWIW, I'm from Canada and have family there, and I wouldn't say that their health care system is better overall. Both the Canadian and US systems have their strong points. They both also have a distressing number of people whose situations fall between the cracks. :(

 

Eleanor:

 

Oh yes; everywhere can descend into inefficiency and being bureaucratic.

 

I do think the safety net thing in the various Canadian provinces' schemes does help people, especially who are out of work, etc., and not having to rely on having no 'pre-existing condition' for a new private sector policy.

[fraidycat]

Don't look to Canada's health system as "the answer". It's definitely not. Perhaps a hybrid of the two systems. I've tried to mull this over a time or two, having "consumer experience" in both health systems, but man alive (!), it's such a complicated matter, it puts me to sleep. :D

[farouk]

Don't look to Canada's health system as "the answer". It's definitely not. Perhaps a hybrid of the two systems. I've tried to mull this over a time or two, having "consumer experience" in both health systems, but man alive (!), it's such a complicated matter, it puts me to sleep. :D

 

fraidycat:

 

No place has a monopoly on truth and efficiency. But it's just sad to see people being ripped off by huge corporations, which the authorities are reluctant to challenge.

[fraidycat]

fraidycat:

 

No place has a monopoly on truth and efficiency. But it's just sad to see people being ripped off by huge corporations, which the authorities are reluctant to challenge.

 

Oh, I absolutely agree 100% that there needs to be an overhaul here. I am just saying that Canada's could use an overhaul, too. At least you can GET medical care here, in a timely manner. This is not so in Canada. An "urgent" surgery means you are on a waiting list from one to five YEARS. So, you may not go in to huge debt to get medical care, but chances are you may die waiting for it.

[MistyMountain]

I have no health insurance right now not by choice and I absolutely panic when I read things like this so I won't read this thread. I get scared every time someone on facebook mentions going to a hospital, the er or a doctor. I am terrified because I know how much things cost. Private options are really exensive and have high deductables and right now we can't afford a private plan. I am literally depressed over not having health insurance and can't sleep at night.

[ktgrok]

Oh, I absolutely agree 100% that there needs to be an overhaul here. I am just saying that Canada's could use an overhaul, too. At least you can GET medical care here, in a timely manner. This is not so in Canada. An "urgent" surgery means you are on a waiting list from one to five YEARS. So, you may not go in to huge debt to get medical care, but chances are you may die waiting for it.

 

Only if you can afford it. Many many many people can't. They would probably be happy to wait for surgery, and have a chance at least.

[Lisbeth]

You are paying for those who can't or won' t pay. For example, those who use ER as a family doc instead of true emergencies because they know they won't be turned away. I read once that you can have two out of three of these for healthcare: cheap, speedy/effient and high quality - but you can' t have all 3.

[RoughCollie]

I have no health insurance right now not by choice and I absolutely panic when I read things like this so I won't read this thread.

 

Have you looked into CHIP health insurance for your kids? You pay from zero to a lot, depending on your income. Google CHIP and your state to find info. As of September 2011, pre-existing conditions for kids are covered. Dental and vision are included in PA. We can choose the insurer from a list, and some insurers charge more than others -- the coverage is the same, but the health care providers are not.

[farouk]

You are paying for those who can't or won' t pay. For example, those who use ER as a family doc instead of true emergencies because they know they won't be turned away. I read once that you can have two out of three of these for healthcare: cheap, speedy/effient and high quality - but you can' t have all 3.

 

Canada, Britain, France etc have a more or less comprehensive coverage, which is good, but the problem is that many people who vocally support those systems have also turned a blind eye to waste, inefficiency and restrictive practices in the health sector.

 

What is needed (and there is no one, foolproof scheme) is the general will to provide comprehensive coverage but also a similar commitment to avoid so much of the waste, over-manning, restrictive practices and sheer bureaucratic inefficiency that have so often characterized some of the socialize schemes.

 

The business community is unlikely to agree to it on its own.

[Aggie]

You are paying for those who can't or won' t pay. For example, those who use ER as a family doc instead of true emergencies because they know they won't be turned away. I read once that you can have two out of three of these for healthcare: cheap, speedy/effient and high quality - but you can' t have all 3.

 

I wonder if there are any stats on people who use the ER as their own personal recreational drug pharmacy. People come in "allergic" to ibuprofen, tylenol, etc, in search of dilaudid. And, of course, the physicians give it to them just to get them out of the ER. The time and money wasted on these 'patients' is unbelievable.

 

A few years ago there was a mass exodus of OB-GYNs from NY(?) because liability insurance was so high. There should be some recourse for people who are under the care of negligent physicians, but we do need some tort reform, imo.

[MistyMountain]

Have you looked into CHIP health insurance for your kids? You pay from zero to a lot, depending on your income. Google CHIP and your state to find info.

 

They were on our states chip but we got kicked off ast month when we reapplied. We are just over the limit. Our state is 1 of 3 with levels under 200% of the poverty level. If it was 200% we woud qualify. It passed but the governor vetoed it. We don't have a siding scale thing here. You either qualify or you don't.

Edited January 3, 2012 by MistyMountain

[farouk]

They were on our states chip but we got kicked off ast month when we reapplied. We are just over the limit. Our state is 1 of 3 with levels under 200% of the poverty level. If it was 200% we woud qualify. It passed but the governor vetoed it. We don't have a siding scale thing here. You either qualify or you don't.

 

MistyMountain:

 

So sorry to read this. One wonders sometimes whose interests are reflected in such vetos.

[anabelneri]

They were on our states chip but we got kicked off ast month when we reapplied. We are just over the limit.

 

I remember that feeling. It's awful to be uninsured. I remember asking my husband if he could talk to his boss about earning slightly less so we could stay covered. That doesn't help much in the short term, though, and it didn't work out that way for us. Things have improved for us -- I sure hope they get better for you too.

 

Here's an odd story... when my younger dd was just born she had to go into the NICU for her jaundice. I stayed with her at the hospital, taking shifts with my husband so that one of us would be with her. When it was my turn to sleep, I went to the parent's lounge, which was full of other parents (it was at a major children's hospital). One of the dads came to help me find a place to sleep, and looked at me with worry and asked if dd was on MediCal (our state insurance). When I said that we were, he was so relieved! He said that the families with children on MediCal were in a much better position than the families with insurance -- our children would get the treatment they needed without stress or fear, while one of the families with insurance had run out of insurance money and was having to get a second mortgage to pay for their child's care. I couldn't believe it! Though honestly the treatment we had on MediCal was hands-down the best medical experience I've ever had. (Of course, my state is totally broke so that might be part of it).

 

I sure hope we get this worked out somehow. Medical care and education. We're in a time of change, so maybe something will amazing will happen and we'll figure this out in a new way. I sure hope so.

[Heather in Neverland]

About 15 years ago my father was traveling through Malaysia and got very sick. He ended up in the local hospital for about 5 days. Guess how much it cost him?

 

 

 

 

 

$125.00 US total. He said he was stunned - and it wasn't his co-pay or anything like that. The ENTIRE bill was $125.00. He said the doctors and nurses were all extremely professional, well-trained, etc. and the hospital itself was spotless and modern.

 

 

Pretty amazing, I think, and it really says something about our health care system and how screwed up it is.

 

Yep. We get excellent healthcare here for a fraction of the cost. My dh was in a motorcycle accident here and broke his neck. He was in traction for several days and has had multiple CT scans, MRIs, X-rays, treatments, medication, and consultations with specialists, etc.

 

His total bill was about $5000 USD and our insurance covered it. People travel from all over to come here for medical treatment.

 

I took my amah to have a tooth pulled at the dentist. Office visit, novacaine, tooth extraction, pain meds... All together cost me $20 USD without insurance.

 

And Malaysia does not have socialized medicine. I am really not sure how they keep costs so low to be honest although my guess is that it has to do with malpractice suits.

 

They do not give multi million dollar lawsuits here for medical issues. For instance, the insurance company paid us about $17,000 USD total for my dh's accident and he is permanently injured. If this had happened in the states we would have gotten a lot more money.

 

But the government caps lawsuits here. So that means malpractice insurance costs less. Maybe that has something to do with it?

 

 

 

.

[RoughCollie]

They were on our states chip but we got kicked off ast month when we reapplied. We are just over the limit. Our state is 1 of 3 with levels under 200% of the poverty level. If it was 200% we woud qualify. It passed but the governor vetoed it. We don't have a siding scale thing here. You either qualify or you don't.

 

I'm sorry to hear that. I had no idea that states had different Chip regulations.

[creekland]

They were on our states chip but we got kicked off ast month when we reapplied. We are just over the limit. Our state is 1 of 3 with levels under 200% of the poverty level. If it was 200% we woud qualify. It passed but the governor vetoed it. We don't have a siding scale thing here. You either qualify or you don't.

 

If you're Christian you can consider a Christian Health Sharing ministry. It's not insurance. It's more like a Christian co-op of people sharing other people's medical costs. It does, however, qualify as "insurance" under the new health care law (meaning one doesn't need to buy insurance if they are signed up with one of these groups).

 

We've been with Samaritan's Ministries for years and prefer it to insurance. It costs us $320 per month + $180 per year for the whole family to belong. We also set aside $400 per year that goes toward "higher coverage" so we can get costs covered beyond $250,000, but that's optional. When you have a "claim" you pay either $300 or $400 for a "deductible" but the rest is covered. We've had two claims and there hasn't been a single problem. Samaritan's did negotiate one of the costs with our hospital (they did, not "we" did).

 

When we had insurance (roughly 15 years ago) we had to pay $600 per month and then had only 80% covered if we had a need. Our deductible was $1000. I can only imagine what our costs would be today.

 

There's no comparison in costs, but again, even if cost weren't an issue, I really prefer health sharing and would never go back to regular insurance. I actually wish more of these types of groups would get started for other affinities or whatever. Christian groups don't cover things like abortions, etc. (another reason I like them), but one could just as easily have a group with the major unions, clubs, or pretty much anything where there's a large enough group of people to spread out the costs.

 

Being non-profit saves a bit I suspect!

 

If it applies, pm me and I can give you a link - or just google it yourself. There are other groups out there. I only have personal experience with Samaritan's Ministries.

[WishboneDawn]

Oh, I absolutely agree 100% that there needs to be an overhaul here. I am just saying that Canada's could use an overhaul, too. At least you can GET medical care here, in a timely manner. This is not so in Canada. An "urgent" surgery means you are on a waiting list from one to five YEARS. So, you may not go in to huge debt to get medical care, but chances are you may die waiting for it.

 

That is absolutely not true. The chances are NOT that you will die waiting. I've had several people in my life require surgery and treatment for ife threatening conditions/diseases in the last few years and al were treated to excellent careand are still olquite alive.

 

Issues with wait times generally happen with elective surgeries like hip replacements but that can vary depending on what province you are in.

 

I'll be having surgery in a month for a none-urgent matter relatedto the birth of my son. The only delay iinvolved was in waiting for things to heal up enough for me to have the surgery. Honestly, I rarely recognize the mythical Canadian healthcare system that gets discussed on American forums.

[MSNative]

All systems have problems. I lived in the UK and the wait times were awful. We ended up bringing my sister back here because the wait for her "emergency" appointment for cancer was going to be over a year. I was glad to have the option, even though it did cost a lot. Cold comfort, I know, when staring down ridiculously high medical bills. We've been lucky enough to be able to negotiate with out insurance and pay off our medical bills, but we've felt the hit.

 

How to fix it? I agree that two of the big problems are abuse of the system and ambulance chasing. The second one is easier to attack. Making med. personnel and hospitals liable for gross negligence rather than simple negligence is one option. That might cut down on unnecessary CYA tests and expensive lawsuits.

 

Second one - ? Clinics rather than ERs that would be cheaper to run and able to deal with smaller issues? That could cut costs of people unnecessarily going to the ER but not really solve the problem. I don't know how to do that.

 

A big problem is that the whole medical payment/insurance is a mystery to most of us. I have no idea how prices get set, how "they" decide what to charge, what to pay, what I'll pay, etc. I read my coverage carefully, but my bill rarely looks anything like what I expect. I'd love to see prices like you do at other businesses - visit with dr. $50, shot - $20, x-rays - $50, etc. That would only work for regular type medical issues, but maybe it's a start.

[EKS]

But the government caps lawsuits here. So that means malpractice insurance costs less. Maybe that has something to do with it?

 

Is the cost of living also lower there?

[Mrs Mungo]

I have no health insurance right now not by choice and I absolutely panic when I read things like this so I won't read this thread. I get scared every time someone on facebook mentions going to a hospital, the er or a doctor. I am terrified because I know how much things cost. Private options are really exensive and have high deductables and right now we can't afford a private plan. I am literally depressed over not having health insurance and can't sleep at night.

 

I hate to read things like this. It terrifies me for you. My son has been hospitalized twice at around $15-20k per hospitalization. My sister's son wound up in the NICU after he was born. We have insurance, so we didn't pay anything. They owe over $15k in medical debt and they have insurance.

 

If you're Christian you can consider a Christian Health Sharing ministry. It's not insurance. It's more like a Christian co-op of people sharing other people's medical costs. It does, however, qualify as "insurance" under the new health care law (meaning one doesn't need to buy insurance if they are signed up with one of these groups).

 

The bolded is the key phrase. It is not insurance. They have no real obligation to pay for you. They have experienced shortfalls. Patients do not have their entire bill paid. This is a complete gamble with your money. At least insurance companies are regulated.

[The Girls' Mom]

I have been so thankful for insurance this year. With dh's emergency surgery and subsequent surgeries, we would have lost everything we owned due to hospital/doctor bills. It was well over $200K...I haven't added it all up yet. I've griped about our poor insurance, but I won't any more. It saved our rears this year. I do wish the costs were under control though. It's outrageous how much they charge for things.

[Heather in Neverland]

Is the cost of living also lower there?

 

That is a complicated answer. In many ways, yes but in some ways, no. And also, the island I live on, in addition to Kuala Lumpur, are pretty expensive but the rest of the country is not. Overall, with the currency conversion, we make less than we did in the states for the same kind of work but our standard of living is much higher.

 

So I suppose the general answer is that the cost of living is cheaper. Clear as mud? :tongue_smilie:

[luvnlattes]

But the government caps lawsuits here. So that means malpractice insurance costs less. Maybe that has something to do with it?

 

I've always thought that was a big contributor but never did any research on it.

 

My in-laws spend their winters in AZ. They go into Mexico to get all their dental work done. My FIL loves his dentist down there and feels very confident in his abilities. I don't remember the exact prices but they are a fraction of what is paid here in the states.