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So does that mean hospitals with low number of privately insured (instead mostly uninsured and medicare/medicaid) will perform just as well as those with high p

by pkaye 7y ago

So does that mean hospitals with low number of privately insured (instead mostly uninsured and medicare/medicaid) will perform just as well as those with high percent privately insured patients?

shkkmo 7y ago
As I said, good numbers appear hard to find. Good luck even finding a good estimate of what percentage of uninsured care is paid for by the uninsured. The closest thing I found is that the insured and the uninsured tend to pay about the same amount out of pocket but the uninsured have consistently lower incomes so are spending a higher percentage of their income. As a point of reference, I am uninsured and pay all my medical bills out of pocket. I have never received any uncompensated care (because I can afford it). I suspect that the uninsured pay for a much higher percentage of their care than people assume.
- pkaye 7y ago
  Yes its hard to figure this out. I've happened to find this interesting link. Not sure how unbiased it is. http://truecostofhealthcare.org/hospital_financial_analysis/ http://truecostofhealthcare.org/hospital_financial_analysis/ I have a pretty good private plan right now but being that I'm on dialysis, I'll be forced onto medicare soon enough because 30 months after starting dialysis, we have to switch to medicare as primary coverage. I just hope I don't end up paying more out of my pocket.
  - goldenkey 7y ago
    That sounds rough. I had a kidney scare earlier this year due to creatine. Luckily I recovered by being off of it. Can you tell a bit more about how your kidneys got to their current state? Could help me or somebody else out.
    - pkaye 7y ago
      Mine is an autoimmune disease called IgA nephropathy. One day when your body is fighting a cold or something your immune cells decide your kidneys are a good place to attack. The immune cells are big so they damage the filtering capacity of the kidneys. And you don't even notice it until your GFR (level of kidney function) drops super low and you start feeling crappy. There is not a lot you can do about IgAN except get lucky to catch it early and slow its progress. However mine was a quick progressing one and happened between doctor visits. Only thing I can say it get a baseline comprehensive metabolic panel blood tests (its very cheap) and do it periodically to monitor your health. The medical system tends to be reactive but you as an individual should be proactive. If you think about it people get their cars checked out more often than themselves.

by pkaye 7y ago

So does that mean hospitals with low number of privately insured (instead mostly uninsured and medicare/medicaid) will perform just as well as those with high percent privately insured patients?

shkkmo 7y ago

As I said, good numbers appear hard to find. Good luck even finding a good estimate of what percentage of uninsured care is paid for by the uninsured. The closest thing I found is that the insured and the uninsured tend to pay about the same amount out of pocket but the uninsured have consistently lower incomes so are spending a higher percentage of their income. As a point of reference, I am uninsured and pay all my medical bills out of pocket. I have never received any uncompensated care (because I can afford it). I suspect that the uninsured pay for a much higher percentage of their care than people assume.

pkaye 7y ago
Yes its hard to figure this out. I've happened to find this interesting link. Not sure how unbiased it is. http://truecostofhealthcare.org/hospital_financial_analysis/ http://truecostofhealthcare.org/hospital_financial_analysis/ I have a pretty good private plan right now but being that I'm on dialysis, I'll be forced onto medicare soon enough because 30 months after starting dialysis, we have to switch to medicare as primary coverage. I just hope I don't end up paying more out of my pocket.
- goldenkey 7y ago
  That sounds rough. I had a kidney scare earlier this year due to creatine. Luckily I recovered by being off of it. Can you tell a bit more about how your kidneys got to their current state? Could help me or somebody else out.
  - pkaye 7y ago
    Mine is an autoimmune disease called IgA nephropathy. One day when your body is fighting a cold or something your immune cells decide your kidneys are a good place to attack. The immune cells are big so they damage the filtering capacity of the kidneys. And you don't even notice it until your GFR (level of kidney function) drops super low and you start feeling crappy. There is not a lot you can do about IgAN except get lucky to catch it early and slow its progress. However mine was a quick progressing one and happened between doctor visits. Only thing I can say it get a baseline comprehensive metabolic panel blood tests (its very cheap) and do it periodically to monitor your health. The medical system tends to be reactive but you as an individual should be proactive. If you think about it people get their cars checked out more often than themselves.