| AWDFTW |
*sigh*
Expensive lesson learned. Never trust a doctor's office when they say they accept your insurance. $425 bill later we find out they are out of network for us. Time to find a new doctor. Again. |
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| rockhopjohn |
Yeah, well just watch out for those New Patient fees. I had to go to an ear/nose/throat guy back in April to have a vein in my nose cauterized (a 20 minute procedure using a nasal swab). Cost of the Cauterization - $199, seem fair enough; New patient fee - $243 . . . kiss my what!?!
I called them up to see what the deal was, "Well sir, when you are a new patient the doctor has to spend more time reviewing your background. . . blah, blah, blah". I didn't spend more than 30 minutes in their office, and that includes filling out the new patient paper work. I talked to a PA for about 5 minutes, then talked to the doctor for about 5 minutes, had my nose swabbed and was out of there. Apparently that was 450 bucks. I am in grad school for the wrong profession. |
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| 07OregonOutback |
| Lame. I hate dealing with all that crap. Sorry bout your money too, that sucks. |
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| daredevil1166 |
I went to see an Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor a couple months ago because I have to pop my ears all the time and everything sounds muffled if I don't.
Sometimes it hurts, sharp pains.
I went in for an initial exam and then was sent for a CT of my head and neck.
The doctor called me into her office after the CT(another co-pay) just so she could say "we couldn't find anything wrong".
She just totally washed her hands of me then. Wouldn't talk about other options or possibly causes for my issues. She just kept saying there's nothing wrong wth me.
After all this I now have $500 in bills to pay. And that's after my insurance paid their part.
All to find out that I'm imagining my issues and the sharp pain in my ears is not actually there.
Some doctors are just cheats. They'll do or say anything to get you in their office. Then they close the door and get out the wallet sucking vacuum.
Support your local doctor.... they need a new Lexus...... |
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| DonD |
quote: Originally posted by rockhopjohn
Yeah, well just watch out for those New Patient fees. I had to go to an ear/nose/throat guy back in April to have a vein in my nose cauterized (a 20 minute procedure using a nasal swab). Cost of the Cauterization - $199, seem fair enough; New patient fee - $243 . . . kiss my what!?!
I called them up to see what the deal was, "Well sir, when you are a new patient the doctor has to spend more time reviewing your background. . . blah, blah, blah". I didn't spend more than 30 minutes in their office, and that includes filling out the new patient paper work. I talked to a PA for about 5 minutes, then talked to the doctor for about 5 minutes, had my nose swabbed and was out of there. Apparently that was 450 bucks. I am in grad school for the wrong profession. | |
You think this is bad, wait until the government takes over health care. God help us!!! |
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| rockhopjohn |
quote: Originally posted by DonD
You think this is bad, wait until the government takes over health care. God help us!!! | |
Same price, I just woulda had to wait 2 months for the pleasure. |
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| dprice |
quote: Originally posted by DonD
You think this is bad, wait until the government takes over health care. God help us!!! | |
right, because the private sector has done wonderfully :rolleyes: we have an amazingly unhealthy population and astronomically expensive health care. way to go capitalism! :18: |
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| BuzzBuzz |
quote: Originally posted by dprice
right, because the private sector has done wonderfully :rolleyes: we have an amazingly unhealthy population and astronomically expensive health care. way to go capitalism! :18: | |
Yep. I ran into a sign post a few years back (The sign said "no parking").
I tore the skin under the eyebrow. 1/2" tear, lots of blood in the face, girlfriend freaked out.
So, we go to the ER for stitches and a tetanus shot. I sign some papers and wait for a few hours, maybe 2 - 3. By the time I was seen (by a nurse, not a doctor, not that there's anything wrong with that), the bleeding had long stopped. She closed the tear with a bit of medical superglue (it was already well healing by that time) and gave me the tetanus shot.
The bill was for $1500 for perhaps 90 seconds of medical attention and 10 bucks in parts.
I wonder how this could possibly get any worse when the government "takes over heath care". There are already bureaucrats between you and your doctor. Only now, as employees of the private sector they are looking to earn a profit for their employer. Guess who's more likely to deny or delay your treatment. |
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| DonD |
quote: Originally posted by dprice
right, because the private sector has done wonderfully :rolleyes: we have an amazingly unhealthy population and astronomically expensive health care. way to go capitalism! :18: | |
No the private sector isn't perfect but I will take capitalism any day over socialism. |
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| dvl |
quote: Originally posted by DonD
No the private sector isn't perfect but I will take capitalism any day over socialism. | |
Most people already accept 'socialized' services for many things. E.g. education, fire, police, water, libraries, roads. |
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| rockhopjohn |
quote: Originally posted by dvl
Most people already accept 'socialized' services for many things. E.g. education, fire, police, water, libraries, roads. | |
Beat me to the punch. . . |
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| wilsonhp |
| Accepting it still doesn't make it right. |
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| dvl |
quote: Originally posted by wilsonhp
Accepting it still doesn't make it right. | |
Please elaborate. :) |
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| BuzzBuzz |
quote: Originally posted by dvl
Please elaborate. :) | |
Add defense to your list and see what happens...
;) |
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| dvl |
quote: Originally posted by BuzzBuzz
Add defense to your list and see what happens...
;) | |
As in military? |
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| BuzzBuzz |
quote: Originally posted by dvl
As in military? | |
Yes.
As in "we don't REALLY disagree about public spending in principle, just with WHAT we're spending on"
Last I've heard, it was deemed unpatriotic to question anything related to national defense - regardless of how "socialized" an institution the military is. |
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| ETC |
quote: Originally posted by wilsonhp
Accepting it still doesn't make it right. | |
And calling something capitalism doesn't make it capitalism, calling something democratic doesn't make it so.
I see the "socialism scare" still works on some people. Next time you hear a senator, congressman or governor cry about a program being socialism, check out his campaign contributions list for whatever corporate entity that stands to gain from not passing it. When it comes to health care, the same senators that are crying foul on the public option [which is NOT single payer universal] get public subsidized plans for themselves. Funny how it's ok for us to pay for most of their healthcare but somehow us paying for each others is "stalinesque".
I'm not sure how anyone can say "Private Sector" with a straight face after the bank bailout ... is that not "socialism" ? . Seems to me in Capitalism, when a company can not compete and stay solvent, they fold.
Add Unemployment and Social Security to your list of "socialist" programs. They keep saying Social Security is broken but the only thing broken about it is that the rest of the government agency are allowed to use it as their own personal piggy bank. If this practice weren't allowed, there would probably be enough money in it to pay off the national debt ten times over. Unemployment is currently the only reason that more americans are not out on the street with nothing to eat due to the fantastically responsible actions of our "private sector".
I'm sure someone will bitch that this is turning in to a "political thread" but, this stuff effects us all. It's time the money grubbing insurance companies with their profit before anything else policy had some competition.
The current plan is a "public option" which means that everyone can get in to it. You still have to pay but, you eliminate the billions in profit that the insurance companies take so the costs are drastically reduced.
Get informed with facts, not BS rhetoric from insurance and pharma patsies. |
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| dakboy |
quote: Originally posted by DonD
No the private sector isn't perfect but I will take capitalism any day over socialism. | |
We don't have "pure" capitalism in health care today - there are a lot of things which would get denied if the insurance companies were really hardcore about their bottom line. And there might even be decent competition. |
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| CNY_Dave |
quote: Originally posted by dakboy
We don't have "pure" capitalism in health care today - there are a lot of things which would get denied if the insurance companies were really hardcore about their bottom line. And there might even be decent competition. | |
I suspect some corporate executives might get whacked by pissed-off loved ones, too, if they did it that way.
Dave |
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| outbackredux |
| Fire, police, military is not socialism. Those are the some of the few legit jobs of government. Personally I opted for private schools for my girls and provide my own water in the form of a well with a kick butt filter. Nothing is perfect, even soobs. If you want more expensive, lower quailty, and less accessible healthcare the government will provide it. Just like they provide it to the seniors and vets. Don't they have a great system!? Watch what you wish for we just might get it. Me I'm tired of getting the government that the stupid deserve. |
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| hunterlord |
| wait till its free! the prez will save our asses.:6: |
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| feuser |
quote: Originally posted by outbackredux
Fire, police, military is not socialism. Those are the some of the few legit jobs of government. Personally I opted for private schools for my girls and provide my own water in the form of a well with a kick butt filter. Nothing is perfect, even soobs. If you want more expensive, lower quailty, and less accessible healthcare the government will provide it. Just like they provide it to the seniors and vets. Don't they have a great system!? Watch what you wish for we just might get it. Me I'm tired of getting the government that the stupid deserve. | |
QED.
You say fire police military are legitimate forms of Government management of resources, health is not. This, of course, is in complete disagreement with the argument of the alleged inferiority of everything that is Government-managed.
Health care works just like the other services mentioned. It requires a social contract in order to function at all because of two things:
A. Specialization of skill
B. Distribution of risk (the insurance principle)
Health care insurance (not health care) is the most obvious example of a service that benefits from the widest distribution of risk - simply because we are all risk-takers. Having a body is not optional, as perhaps driving a car is. The only fair way to assess the individual's due contribution to this system is by their individual means, i.e. income.
Does an HMO offer a discount for low wage earners? No. (They do offer plans for less that ARE less). Do they cover treatment for the leg you broke the day after you got laid off and lost insurance? No.
Good luck with your well. |
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| ETC |
I'm really interested in what health insurance carrier the people that profess to "love their insurance" have ?. I've had most of them as employer supplied insurance and have "loved" none of them. My overall experience with them is something like pulling the handle on a slot machine, you never know what you're gonna get back if anything.
My brother in laws plant just closed down, lost his job. COBRA for his family is $1980 per month.
I'm constantly amazed at how easily the American people are duped in to doing the exact opposite of what's in their best interest by using the same old tired rhetoric.
Would someone like to explain to me what useful purpose health insurance companies have ?
When you explain that they "take a risk", cite some instances of an insurance company that didn't show at least a 10 million dollar net profit in the last ten years.
Seems simple to me, take out the middleman who serves no purpose. Run the system at a similar net cost and you reduce the cost of the coverage. Reduce the cost of the coverage and you get more people in the pool to draw from. It's not that hard to understand, the insurance companies just want you to think that for some reason you need them in the middle making huge profits ... no ... actually you don't.
Oh, did you hear, If they pass a public option, gays will be allowed to get married and serve in the military, the national religion will be changed to Islam, We'll all have to learn French, Not only will the government kill old people ... the're going to kill fetuses because childbirth is too expensive ... and I think i heard that transgenders can get penises and vaginas installed for free, they might even be able to take yours without consent ;] |
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