8 ms·

Just this weekend my wife told me about a co-worker who was bragging about taking the ambulance to the ER the last time her son had a slight cough. Normally she

by Pigo 9y ago

Just this weekend my wife told me about a co-worker who was bragging about taking the ambulance to the ER the last time her son had a slight cough. Normally she goes through all the trouble of driving him there herself, but she didn't want to waste any gas. Apparently, any and all health matters end with a trip to the ER in her family. She said several other co-workers claimed to do this as well. Part of the reason is that they can ask for prescriptions for Pediasure and other baby-related goods while they are there, so that it'll be covered and they don't have to pay for it. I'd never heard of this. For most of these families, the fathers of their children stay home all day and don't work. I admire how these women pull long shifts and work everyday of the week. But when it comes to healthcare, I've heard some ponderous stories that shed some light on how some systems come to get over-worked and require so much money to operate. Maybe our community is the only one in America that this common, but it's a reality where I live. Yeah I get a little ticked off when my premiums continue to rise when I hardly ever seek any healthcare and my family is rarely sick, and insurance companies count on my never going to help shoulder the burden of the people who do go. I don't mind contributing some to help people who need it, but honestly it's reaching a breaking point with me. The company I work for can't afford to offer a plan better than Obamacare, so even the PPO plan is terrible.

snarf21 9y ago
This is one of the key factors: access. We can cut costs but that generally means removing access for a lot of people. There is a cost for having an UrgentCare and a CVS on every corner. This also means driving larger distances to get care which Europe doesn't have at the same scale given their density.Removing all that cost also means removing 100Ks of jobs (some direct, some indirect because even grocery stores make a killing on prescriptions). No one is going to vote for that. Instead we'll keep doing what we do with everything else, raise taxes on the middle class to pay for everyone else. We also need a better way to separate emergency healthcare insurance (which is what we have for cars) from regular routine things that should maybe be paid out of pocket or socialized. We also need to cut down on the abuse and that is what you are talking about. No ER for a cold and less unnecessary tests and cut back on cancer treatments for people over 80 (most everyone is at risk for cancer eventually, this is just a result of aging, not an unfortunate event for a 20 year old).
- Pigo 9y ago
  I've heard that men who live to 100 have a 100% chance of prostate cancer. They just leave it untreated because we're cured when we die. I would be ecstatic for an option for emergency healthcare insurance, because that's all my family needs. I could cost effectively purchase all other services necessary as needed, and save an enormous amount of money. But like I said, these companies need my money to shoulder the financial burden, so I'm not holding my breath. I just know I could learn to be okay with being forced to pay for other people if they managed it better.
  - justin66 9y ago
    High-deductible plans exist.
  - snarf21 9y ago
    Right, I think the high deductible plans could work IF we also add national HSA that everyone is eligible for to pay for routine health care costs pre tax.
HillaryBriss 9y ago
someone i once knew used to call the ambulance so that they could get into the emergency room at Kaiser and therefore get some treatment. otherwise, it took forever to get in and be seen by a doctor.
curiousgeorgio 9y ago
My wife was a teacher for middle school youth who were in state custody (or had other behavioral issues), and all of her students were raised with the exact same approach to healthcare as your co-worker. "Why pay for anything when you don't have to?" When my wife was about to deliver our first child, she mentioned to her students how the hospital bills can be expensive. Her students were absolutely dumbfounded that anyone would actually pay out-of-pocket (with or without insurance) for a baby delivery. They almost couldn't comprehend the idea that anyone other than the government actually pays for this stuff. Many of those same students came from large families where a single mother literally chose to have many children (with random fathers) in order to qualify for more state-funded entitlements, and unfortunately, that whole mindset evidently perpetuates itself through the generations as kids grow up and expect to repeat the process. And of course, their votes count the same as my vote.
- Pigo 9y ago
  I know exactly what you're talking about. When I went to setup a payment arrangement for my son's delivery, the hospital acted like they didn't know what to do with me. I had to call and explain what I was even doing every time I tried to make a payment. Eventually I got with a representative who helped me figure it out, but I was left with the distinct impression that I was the only idiot in my county who pays for that. In the midst of all this partisan debate about what will work best, I keep feeling like nothing can sustain a system that allows so much abuse.
- mgbmtl 9y ago
  I'm a bit confused by the context. There's nothing wrong with the mindset of expecting free healthcare, but I think it's how you get there that is problematic. In western countries, those things are "free" because we collectively pay for them. I can't imagine having to pay for child birth. It's just something we are collectively responsible for, because we try to provide basic human rights to everyone. Same for daycare. As a parent, finding a daycare centre that met basic health standards was one of the most stressful parts of becoming a parent. When the government started subsidizing non-profit daycare, it solved so many problems and made me much more productive at work.
mcv 9y ago
How is "a slight cough" an emergency room issue? I just call my regular physician (is that "general practitioner" or "family doctor" in English?) and her assistant gives me some advice. I have no idea what would happen if people were to start abusing emergency rooms and ambulances for regular care, but I think it would make a lot of sense for emergency rooms to just direct people to their regular physician.

by Pigo 9y ago

snarf21 9y ago

This is one of the key factors: access. We can cut costs but that generally means removing access for a lot of people. There is a cost for having an UrgentCare and a CVS on every corner. This also means driving larger distances to get care which Europe doesn't have at the same scale given their density.Removing all that cost also means removing 100Ks of jobs (some direct, some indirect because even grocery stores make a killing on prescriptions). No one is going to vote for that. Instead we'll keep doing what we do with everything else, raise taxes on the middle class to pay for everyone else. We also need a better way to separate emergency healthcare insurance (which is what we have for cars) from regular routine things that should maybe be paid out of pocket or socialized. We also need to cut down on the abuse and that is what you are talking about. No ER for a cold and less unnecessary tests and cut back on cancer treatments for people over 80 (most everyone is at risk for cancer eventually, this is just a result of aging, not an unfortunate event for a 20 year old).

Pigo 9y ago
I've heard that men who live to 100 have a 100% chance of prostate cancer. They just leave it untreated because we're cured when we die. I would be ecstatic for an option for emergency healthcare insurance, because that's all my family needs. I could cost effectively purchase all other services necessary as needed, and save an enormous amount of money. But like I said, these companies need my money to shoulder the financial burden, so I'm not holding my breath. I just know I could learn to be okay with being forced to pay for other people if they managed it better.
- justin66 9y ago
  High-deductible plans exist.
- snarf21 9y ago
  Right, I think the high deductible plans could work IF we also add national HSA that everyone is eligible for to pay for routine health care costs pre tax.

HillaryBriss 9y ago

someone i once knew used to call the ambulance so that they could get into the emergency room at Kaiser and therefore get some treatment. otherwise, it took forever to get in and be seen by a doctor.

curiousgeorgio 9y ago

My wife was a teacher for middle school youth who were in state custody (or had other behavioral issues), and all of her students were raised with the exact same approach to healthcare as your co-worker. "Why pay for anything when you don't have to?" When my wife was about to deliver our first child, she mentioned to her students how the hospital bills can be expensive. Her students were absolutely dumbfounded that anyone would actually pay out-of-pocket (with or without insurance) for a baby delivery. They almost couldn't comprehend the idea that anyone other than the government actually pays for this stuff. Many of those same students came from large families where a single mother literally chose to have many children (with random fathers) in order to qualify for more state-funded entitlements, and unfortunately, that whole mindset evidently perpetuates itself through the generations as kids grow up and expect to repeat the process. And of course, their votes count the same as my vote.

Pigo 9y ago
I know exactly what you're talking about. When I went to setup a payment arrangement for my son's delivery, the hospital acted like they didn't know what to do with me. I had to call and explain what I was even doing every time I tried to make a payment. Eventually I got with a representative who helped me figure it out, but I was left with the distinct impression that I was the only idiot in my county who pays for that. In the midst of all this partisan debate about what will work best, I keep feeling like nothing can sustain a system that allows so much abuse.
mgbmtl 9y ago
I'm a bit confused by the context. There's nothing wrong with the mindset of expecting free healthcare, but I think it's how you get there that is problematic. In western countries, those things are "free" because we collectively pay for them. I can't imagine having to pay for child birth. It's just something we are collectively responsible for, because we try to provide basic human rights to everyone. Same for daycare. As a parent, finding a daycare centre that met basic health standards was one of the most stressful parts of becoming a parent. When the government started subsidizing non-profit daycare, it solved so many problems and made me much more productive at work.

mcv 9y ago

How is "a slight cough" an emergency room issue? I just call my regular physician (is that "general practitioner" or "family doctor" in English?) and her assistant gives me some advice. I have no idea what would happen if people were to start abusing emergency rooms and ambulances for regular care, but I think it would make a lot of sense for emergency rooms to just direct people to their regular physician.