End of Life Planning Effective Jan. 1, 2011

[2dumb2kwit]

You seem to think I have never paid taxes before,, trust me I have and will again,,

It would bring the cost down,, If the government is controlling it the cost would come down,, as it is, the hospitals charge whatever they want to charge,, hence 400 dollar aspirins....

The ONLY way that the Gov't could lower cost, is to lower greatly the goods and services provided.

If you believe what you just posted, it is obvious to me, that you have little understanding of this subject.

[2dumb2kwit]

If the government is controlling it the cost would come down,,

There's the problem, in a nutshell.

How can you actually believe that?

[Justin Case]

Maybe Competition is the answer,,

[2dumb2kwit]

Maybe Competition is the answer,,

Ding, Ding, Ding....we have a winner!

Now, before I get all excited, what do you mean by competition?

[Justin Case]

Ding, Ding, Ding....we have a winner!

Now, before I get all excited, what do you mean by competition?

The Government competing with the private sector LOL,,,

[Pocomoonskyeyes3]

Really ? The VA seems to work quite well....

Yep, I'm a Vet. Who steers clear of the VA. I feel just as safe if I visit some voodoo woman or some unlicensed doctor. I have heard too many "Horror stories" of VA hospitals. Thanks but no thanks.

There are some good Doctors that work for the Gov't....usually at places like Walter Reed or the equivalent. Most of the Doc's around here have similar stories said about them.

You are about as good not seeing them as you are seeing them. Oh sure, broken bones, stitches, stuff like that they are good, but nothing I am willing to put my life in their hands with.

[2dumb2kwit]

The Government competing with the private sector LOL,,,

Yeah...that would be competition.....if the private sector was allowed to use force to take whatever they want.

[Rick]

Jeez, I step away for an hour and you guys go crazy.

A recent court decision found that it is unconstitutional for the government to force the population to take health care insurance. I'm sure this one will be before the Supreme Court.

http://www.mnmed.org/News/NewsFullSt...3/Default.aspx

Justin - Your example of the VA is really a good one and one I hadn't considered. But you are correct. Dad was treated splendidly by the VA. Top notch.

Frankly, I don't have a real problem with government funded health care. Some would say it's part of the basic requirement of any government. The early Greeks said government served only to improve the lives of its citizens and there is some reasoning in that approach. What I am against is the timing. With a $13T debt I don't think we can afford much more expense.

[Justin Case]

Yeah...that would be competition.....if the private sector was allowed to use force to take whatever they want.

They already are,, in the form of people having no other option,, as long as the medical powers that be stick together, and they will,, they will continue to charge these overinflated prices,, I would rather be taxed a little more and have basic health insurance guaranteed than have none,,

[Justin Case]

Yep, I'm a Vet. Who steers clear of the VA. I feel just as safe if I visit some voodoo woman or some unlicensed doctor. I have heard too many "Horror stories" of VA hospitals. Thanks but no thanks.

There are some good Doctors that work for the Gov't....usually at places like Walter Reed or the equivalent. Most of the Doc's around here have similar stories said about them.

You are about as good not seeing them as you are seeing them. Oh sure, broken bones, stitches, stuff like that they are good, but nothing I am willing to put my life in their hands with.

Like I said, they took great care of my dad ,, and he was terminally ill,

[Rick]

You are discounting the need to offset the cost associated with those patients that don't have insurance. A hospital can not refuse to treat a patient. If the patient has no insurance then they eat the cost. They make that up by overcharging those than can pay and those that have insurance. Even then they may have to eat some of the cost because insurance only pays reasonable and customary and/or they are contracted to provide services at a set cost. Very precarious financial balancing act for hospitals. Particularly those that service rural areas. That's why many don't survive.

[Justin Case]

]You are discounting the need to offset the cost associated with those patients that don't have insurance.[/B] A hospital can not refuse to treat a patient. If the patient has no insurance then they eat the cost. They make that up by overcharging those than can pay and those that have insurance. Even then they may have to eat some of the cost because insurance only pays reasonable and customary and/or they are contracted to provide services at a set cost. Very precarious financial balancing act for hospitals. Particularly those that service rural areas. That's why many don't survive.

Yes, and thats the problem, if there was universal healthcare for everybody,, the hospitals would always get paid,, They would not have to "eat" anything,,

[Sam]

You seem to think I have never paid taxes before,, trust me I have and will again,,

It would bring the cost down,, If the government is controlling it the cost would come down,, as it is, the hospitals charge whatever they want to charge,, hence 400 dollar aspirins....

Will it be like insurance oversight, that keeps insurance companies from bending people over?
-Sam

[2dumb2kwit]

Yes, and thats the problem, if there was universal healthcare for everybody,, the hospitals would always get paid,, They would not have to "eat" anything,,

You just don't get it, do you? The money has to come from somewhere!

[2dumb2kwit]

They already are,, in the form of people having no other option,, as long as the medical powers that be stick together, and they will,, they will continue to charge these overinflated prices,, I would rather be taxed a little more and have basic health insurance guaranteed than have none,,

The only thing limiting your options, are the laws that are made up, by the very people you want to give control to. Think about that.

[Sam]

Yep, I'm a Vet. Who steers clear of the VA. I feel just as safe if I visit some voodoo woman or some unlicensed doctor. I have heard too many "Horror stories" of VA hospitals. Thanks but no thanks.

There are some good Doctors that work for the Gov't....usually at places like Walter Reed or the equivalent. Most of the Doc's around here have similar stories said about them.

You are about as good not seeing them as you are seeing them. Oh sure, broken bones, stitches, stuff like that they are good, but nothing I am willing to put my life in their hands with.

VA dentist, "You're a Marine, we can pull that tooth with out any shots. Suck it up butter cup." That was my last visit.
-Sam

[2dumb2kwit]

Yes, and thats the problem, if there was universal healthcare for everybody,, the hospitals would always get paid,, They would not have to "eat" anything,,

So what do the hospitals do, when they are expected to give $1.5 million in medical care, and Uncle Sam says that they are only going to pay them $1 million???

BTW, Uncle Sam took $3 million in taxes to cover this, but after the "red tape" there was only $1 million left to pay the hospital.

[Pocomoonskyeyes3]

You are discounting the need to offset the cost associated with those patients that don't have insurance. A hospital can not refuse to treat a patient. If the patient has no insurance then they eat the cost. They make that up by overcharging those than can pay and those that have insurance. Even then they may have to eat some of the cost because insurance only pays reasonable and customary and/or they are contracted to provide services at a set cost. Very precarious financial balancing act for hospitals. Particularly those that service rural areas. That's why many don't survive.

Yes and why they employ substandard Doctors too. Like the one who we told(verbally) that our son was allergic to sulfur meds, It was in his charts, AND it was on his color coded bracelet he was wearing. So he prescribes the medicine, we get to the pharmacy, tell the pharmacist that our son is allergic to sulfur meds, the Pharmacist informs us that it is a SULFUR BASED Medicine!!! The Pharmacist then calls the Doctor and argues with him for an hour!! The Doctor REFUSES To change the Medicine!! The Pharmacist (Who also has the record of his allergies, then Changes it to a different based medicine and tosses the prescription in his tray. And starts to fill out a report on WHY he had to disregard the Doctors prescription.
We Contact the Hospital, They tell us that they have to talk to the Doctor and get back with us. a full month later we call them to find out what happened.... nothing yet. Call back yet again in 2 weeks and find out that all they did was tell the Doctor he had to be more careful. Talking to other people in the community we find that this particular Doctor has done things of a similar nature DOZENS of times!! Had we followed the doctors advise without questioning the pharmacist(which we almost didn't do...after all the info was on the bracelet, in his charts, and we had told him ourselves) we would have had a funeral to attend to. This is way to common.

[Rick]

Can't speak to either situation. I know I would have filed a complaint with 1. The VA against the dentist and 2. The state license agency in your case, Poco. Neither are the norm nor should they be expected. Are there bad physicians? Yeah. Just like there are bad __________ fill in the blank. You know what they call the guy that graduated last in his medical class? Doctor.

[Justin Case]

where I used to live, there was a local doctor that earned the nick name "Dr Death" ,,, seriously,,,,