Health Care Costs

[Old-Biscuit]

Hang on to your wallet.

Health Insurance Companies are seeking rate increases.....big ones!!
....new customers turned out to be sicker than expected.

Article

[johnnyrv]

A major reason for higher rates in all forms of insurance is the very low interest rate environment.

[pira114]

A free market system would have fixed/prevented all this.

Health care was never a free market. Had they been allowed to sell across State lines, it would have created competition. Prices would have dropped, quality would have gone up.

Instead, now I'm paying for someone to get Healthcare. And quality for both of us will suffer.

And California's socialized medicine exchange is already broke. Bankrupt. Gee, guess who'll pay for that? Richest State in the Union proved it can't be done.

[FlatBroke]

My wife lost her insurance when affordable health care care to being. Now she has a policy that cost twice as much but thanks to you generous citizens you are picking up half the tab. THANK YOU!

[peaches_cream]

Very simple solution: Allow Emergency Rooms and Hospitals the ability to turn away patients that have no Insurance or Cash to pay. In 3 mo. attrition will solve the problem. Funeral Homes will be doing a booming business. SS will be in the black again due to attrition. We were never built to live over 70 yrs. and it is showing. :S

[Skid_Row_Joe]

mockturtle wrote:
This is my home, Joe. Less expensive than a house.

Uh, you missed the point.....some older folks are very well off, and get free healthcare based on their age. That's a lopsided way for the gov to run the healthcare system, but that's the system we have.

Dot gov sez I get free healthcare, but I choose to pay my own way so I can keep my doctor, or individual doctor of choice - not the gov cattle call style of clinical care.

That's the law we all live under today.

[Skid_Row_Joe]

sdianel wrote:
Now the insurance companies will raise the rates because they have an excuse to do so and there are no laws to prevent this. Hold onto your wallets! The premiums are high, the deductibles and copays are so high that lots of healthy people will pay high premiums and never get any benefits from their health insurance because they must meet a $5000 deductible before insurance pays a penny. This was all predicted. The next blow will be the employer mandate and people will lose their jobs. So much for "Affordable" health care. (I am for health care for everyone but not what we have)

Not so. ALL health insurance rules and rates are now totally regulated by the Government. This was enacted into law by the Congress - look up Affordable Healthcare Act. Health care is and always has been free at hospital emergency rooms as mandated by law a long time ago. No one is turned away.

[jwmII]

Hang on to your wallet. That is an understatement for sure. Costs for medical services are on a continuous rise. Many reasons for that have been discussed here like Doctors, other health care professionals, supplies, hospitals, and it goes on.
I spent the last 3 days in our local community hospital having been taken there by the local ambulance service and a home visit by our Fire Dept. E.M.T.s with a so called case of community based Pneumonia. Breathing was heavily restricted. In all cases during that experience From when it started at home to its ending when I left the hospital every service and experience I had getting back on my feet was Top Notch and the best. Services like that are going to have to be paid for. What I don't fully understand is why these costs are on the rise in such large sums and why there is no pause in the increases. It is that condition that gives rise to the comments regarding GREED. Maybe so Maybe not, But we need to identify the problem and correct it before it breaks us. I am not aware of any activity to do that at this time.

[Skid_Row_Joe]

Dutch_12078 wrote:
Wow! I hope United Healthcare continues the zero premium Medicare Advantage Plan my wife and I have had for the past few years. The savings has been a big budget help.

Here's one reason why costs are so high. Folks are getting free healthcare, which in turn makes other's premiums and costs higher...

[Jack_Diane_Free]

Tom Trostel wrote:

"I have a relative who is an emergency room doctor. He earns $400 per hour. No wonder is costs so much."

And a hockey player, football player, basketball player, baseball player who have no responsibility for human life get paid how much?

[mockturtle]

Skid Row Joe wrote:

mockturtle wrote:
IMHO, health care should have never become an 'industry'. It's not the doctors who are getting rich. Many physicians I know are closing their practices because they can't afford to keep them and don't want to be swallowed up by the big corporations. We may all have to rein in our use of the system and its fancy services and even ration those services.

The mandate from D.C. made it an 'industry' by taking it over to give free health care to anyone wanting it. It's fatcat elderly RVers that buy new $135K TCs that should be paying their fair share. They're the ones getting a free ride.:W

This is my home, Joe. Less expensive than a house.

[John___Angela]

Old-Biscuit wrote:

bid_time wrote:

John & Angela wrote:
Question from a foreigner interested in other cultures. If an American can't afford insurance for diagnosis or treatment, is there some kind of backup plan. You read stories but its hard to cut though it all for a foreigner. We live in the US a few months per year but its all quite confusing. Does it also vary state to state?

Thanks in advance.

J and A

If they can't afford it, per gov guidelines, they get Medicaid (taxpayer provided medical care) for free. If they choose not to buy insurance, hospitals are required to treat them regardless.

They only get Medicaid if their income is below poverty level.

Afford is subjective....
Over the poverty level you can get gov. subsides to off-set premiums IF you can afford to pay for coverage (after you pay for home/utilities/child care/food/fuel etc.)

And if you find that you can't afford the premiums you will pay a penalty/fee when you file your Federal Taxes.
Which at present is less than the cost of healthcare premiums and then you go to emergency rooms to get care.

Thank you

[John___Angela]

bid_time wrote:

John & Angela wrote:
Question from a foreigner interested in other cultures. If an American can't afford insurance for diagnosis or treatment, is there some kind of backup plan. You read stories but its hard to cut though it all for a foreigner. We live in the US a few months per year but its all quite confusing. Does it also vary state to state?

Thanks in advance.

J and A

If they can't afford it, per gov guidelines, they get Medicaid (taxpayer provided medical care) for free. If they choose not to buy insurance, hospitals are required to treat them regardless.

Thank you.

[Old-Biscuit]

bid_time wrote:

John & Angela wrote:
Question from a foreigner interested in other cultures. If an American can't afford insurance for diagnosis or treatment, is there some kind of backup plan. You read stories but its hard to cut though it all for a foreigner. We live in the US a few months per year but its all quite confusing. Does it also vary state to state?

Thanks in advance.

J and A

If they can't afford it, per gov guidelines, they get Medicaid (taxpayer provided medical care) for free. If they choose not to buy insurance, hospitals are required to treat them regardless.

They only get Medicaid if their income is below poverty level.

Afford is subjective....
Over the poverty level you can get gov. subsides to off-set premiums IF you can afford to pay for coverage (after you pay for home/utilities/child care/food/fuel etc.)

And if you find that you can't afford the premiums you will pay a penalty/fee when you file your Federal Taxes.
Which at present is less than the cost of healthcare premiums and then you go to emergency rooms to get care.

[bid_time]

John & Angela wrote:
Question from a foreigner interested in other cultures. If an American can't afford insurance for diagnosis or treatment, is there some kind of backup plan. You read stories but its hard to cut though it all for a foreigner. We live in the US a few months per year but its all quite confusing. Does it also vary state to state?

Thanks in advance.

J and A

If they can't afford it, per gov guidelines, they get Medicaid (taxpayer provided medical care) for free. If they choose not to buy insurance, hospitals are required to treat them regardless.

[Skid_Row_Joe]

mockturtle wrote:
IMHO, health care should have never become an 'industry'. It's not the doctors who are getting rich. Many physicians I know are closing their practices because they can't afford to keep them and don't want to be swallowed up by the big corporations. We may all have to rein in our use of the system and its fancy services and even ration those services.

The mandate from D.C. made it an 'industry' by taking it over to give free health care to anyone wanting it. It's fatcat elderly RVers that buy new $135K TCs that should be paying their fair share. They're the ones getting a free ride.:W