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The ER visit ultimately cost $38.92. The system worked out exactly as it should have. I'm getting a bit tired of these anti-US healthcare posts day after day.

The ER visit ultimately cost $38.92. The system worked out exactly as it should have. I'm getting a bit tired of these anti-US healthcare posts day after day. Sure, there are some issues, but this is starting to feel like reformist propaganda. I, for one, am very happy with the current system and don't understand why anti-government activists want to hand the government the keys to run the healthcare system.

toomuchtodo 5y ago
"66.5 percent of all bankruptcies were tied to medical issues —either because of high costs for care or time out of work. An estimated 530,000 families turn to bankruptcy each year." [1] The data is very clear Americans pay the most for healthcare out of every other OECD nation and yet receive worse outcomes [2]. [1] https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/AJPH.2018.304901 https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/AJPH.2018.3049... [2] https://www.pgpf.org/blog/2020/07/how-does-the-us-healthcare-system-compare-to-other-countries https://www.pgpf.org/blog/2020/07/how-does-the-us-healthcare...
monkey_monkey 5y ago
> and don't understand why anti-government activists want to hand the government the keys to run the healthcare system. Because it mostly leads to more efficient healthcare systems. For example, the per-capita healthcare cost in the UK is less than half that of the US for broadly similar outcomes.
maxverse 5y ago
> The ER visit ultimately cost $38.92. The ER visit ultimately cost $38.92, after: 1. He tried to negotiate the bill: "Dhaval Bhatt made numerous attempts to get the hospital to reduce the charges. He also appealed to UnitedHealthcare to review the charges." 2. The hospital refused: "His efforts failed....the hospital would not adjust the bill." 3. The hospital sent his bill to collections: "While Bhatt was trying to reach the patient advocate by phone, his bill was sent to Medicredit, a collection agency, which began sending him notices and calling him." 4. The hospital forgave the bill due to bad PR: "After KHN [Kaiser Health News] contacted SSM Health, Bhatt received a call from someone who worked on "patient financial experience" issues at the hospital. The hospital agreed to forgive the $820 facility fee." > The system worked out exactly as it should have. Could you clarify?
gethoht 5y ago
I had my gallbladder removed and was receiving new bills literally 18 months later. Just because it worked out "this once" doesn't mean it works out in general. Simple fact of the matter is we pay nearly double per capita what most of Europe, Canada and Australia pays for healthcare, and we don't even have universal coverage. Add in the fact that a majority of bankruptcies are due to medical debt and it paints a pretty damning picture overall. This system is fundamentally broken. Anyone defending it is either willfully ignorant or shielded from it's worst aspects.
grammarnazzzi 5y ago
$38.92 for trivial, non-professional services they did not ask for. $1000 reversed only after spending days disputing the charge. Child remains at risk because provider was unable/unwilling to services within a reasonable time frame. $38.92 for a medical assistant spending 1 minute to take your temperature works out to $2335/hour. The article is not arguing for government control. Rather that medical services should be subject to the same transparency as any other professional business and without collusion with each other and insurance providers.

toomuchtodo 5y ago

"66.5 percent of all bankruptcies were tied to medical issues —either because of high costs for care or time out of work. An estimated 530,000 families turn to bankruptcy each year." [1] The data is very clear Americans pay the most for healthcare out of every other OECD nation and yet receive worse outcomes [2]. [1] https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/AJPH.2018.304901 https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/AJPH.2018.3049... [2] https://www.pgpf.org/blog/2020/07/how-does-the-us-healthcare-system-compare-to-other-countries https://www.pgpf.org/blog/2020/07/how-does-the-us-healthcare...

monkey_monkey 5y ago

> and don't understand why anti-government activists want to hand the government the keys to run the healthcare system. Because it mostly leads to more efficient healthcare systems. For example, the per-capita healthcare cost in the UK is less than half that of the US for broadly similar outcomes.

maxverse 5y ago

> The ER visit ultimately cost $38.92. The ER visit ultimately cost $38.92, after: 1. He tried to negotiate the bill: "Dhaval Bhatt made numerous attempts to get the hospital to reduce the charges. He also appealed to UnitedHealthcare to review the charges." 2. The hospital refused: "His efforts failed....the hospital would not adjust the bill." 3. The hospital sent his bill to collections: "While Bhatt was trying to reach the patient advocate by phone, his bill was sent to Medicredit, a collection agency, which began sending him notices and calling him." 4. The hospital forgave the bill due to bad PR: "After KHN [Kaiser Health News] contacted SSM Health, Bhatt received a call from someone who worked on "patient financial experience" issues at the hospital. The hospital agreed to forgive the $820 facility fee." > The system worked out exactly as it should have. Could you clarify?

gethoht 5y ago

I had my gallbladder removed and was receiving new bills literally 18 months later. Just because it worked out "this once" doesn't mean it works out in general. Simple fact of the matter is we pay nearly double per capita what most of Europe, Canada and Australia pays for healthcare, and we don't even have universal coverage. Add in the fact that a majority of bankruptcies are due to medical debt and it paints a pretty damning picture overall. This system is fundamentally broken. Anyone defending it is either willfully ignorant or shielded from it's worst aspects.

grammarnazzzi 5y ago

$38.92 for trivial, non-professional services they did not ask for. $1000 reversed only after spending days disputing the charge. Child remains at risk because provider was unable/unwilling to services within a reasonable time frame. $38.92 for a medical assistant spending 1 minute to take your temperature works out to $2335/hour. The article is not arguing for government control. Rather that medical services should be subject to the same transparency as any other professional business and without collusion with each other and insurance providers.