This kind of thing is unconscionable. Even if -- and that's a huge if but whatever -- you wanted to give flexibility to companies in order to attract business to TX, you could set up some sort of consumer protection for individuals.
Political Discussion
- Thread starter David A.
- Start date
This kind of thing is unconscionable. Even if -- and that's a huge if but whatever -- you wanted to give flexibility to companies in order to attract business to TX, you could set up some sort of consumer protection for individuals.
AnthonyI
Well-Known Member
He's just misunderstood ya'll.................. 
I work for a health insurance company and our highest cost plan is still a HDHP with a $6000 deductible. What kills me is how my work keeps telling me that they want me to "take care of myself" and go see doctors, but with my awesome health insurance, it costs me $194 just to breathe the same air as my cardiologist for 15 minutes. Please tell me, where is the ROI in that?
I don't have healthcare, just the "access" to healthcare. I can't actually use healthcare to effectively treat myself, but I can use it to gain access to subpar care, that they swear is "data driven" but all I can see is their over reliance on lab tests. If it's not an obvious clinical marker, don't ask a doctor to stop and think about your condition. Besides, the admins at the top have decided that doctors only need, at most 15 minutes with their patients, and anything over that is just wasting money. I have a Master's in Public Health, and I have lost faith in our medical system because I see it driven by money instead of any sort of quality outcome.
I think every major heathcare company is doing HDHP for it's employees. My OON coverage is non-existent, but given that I already pay doctors like I don't have health insurance, it's really a very small difference. The only reason I have health insurance is for catastrophic incidences and as a way to get my foot in the door to see doctors. It's laughable to think that people *should* get yearly physicals that the insurance company will cover (thanks ACA), because how is anyone going to pay for treatment if they do find something wrong. It kills me when I'm in meetings and people are handwringing about how members don't get their annual check ups. It's above my pay rate to tell anyone that the reason these people aren't getting physicals is because they can't afford to treat whatever is wrong, so it's best to not have a diagnosis that could be considered "pre-existing". A lot of these execs don't really understand the impetuous behind health utilization of the poor, and sometimes, I just have to bite my tongue with the amount of ridiculous assumptions they come up with.
Smansmith
Member
Man, I have been reading this thread for a while and I just feel for you guys in the US - it is crazy with your healthcare! I can't believe (or I totally can) these prices for treatment/visits, etc.
[Not to be a dick, but} - last year I had a pretty big health scare and was in 'Urgent Care' in one centre, ambulance to different hospital, 1.5 days in emergency there, 4 days in private room then moved to a standard shared room (with 1 other person) for 2 more days. All medications, daily meals, CT scan, MRI, Echo-cardiogram. At the end...2 signatures and I walked out - no bills, no insurance to deal with at all....just walked away feeling lucky. I would be in so much debt living in the US - as @nolalady said, you guys are getting terrible access to healthcare (I am sure the healthcare itself is good tho).
Actually, all of the stats are conceding that we also have pretty awful healthcare itself. A study that just came out suggests that the third leading cause of all deaths in the US is medical error. And if we analyze health outcomes with other countries, the US is way behind on health outcomes too. We have the lowest life expectancy of our peers and much higher suicide rates. We pay more out of pocket and we have higher rates of obesity, lower rates of physician use (largely due to cost), the highest rates of preventable chronic conditions and the highest rate of avoidable deaths. We suck when compared to places like the UK or France.you guys are getting terrible access to healthcare (I am sure the healthcare itself is good tho).
Study Suggests Medical Errors Now Third Leading Cause of Death in the U.S. - 05/03/2016
Analyzing medical death rate data over an eight-year period, Johns Hopkins patient safety experts have calculated that more than 250,000 deaths per year are due to medical error in the U.S. Their figure, published May 3 in The BMJ , surpasses the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and...
www.hopkinsmedicine.org
U.S. Health Care from a Global Perspective, 2019: Higher Spending, Worse Outcomes?
Americans are living shorter, unhealthier lives. Yet, the United States outspends other wealthy nations when it comes to health care, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report. This analysis compares the U.S. to 10 other high-income nations on spending, outcomes, risk factors, and quality.
waruv
Well-Known Member
That's been the trend I've seen in the time I was looking for other jobs (I'm fully settled here for now).
The physical thing is a lot of window dressing. I agree. At least my job tends to offer a financial incentive to do it beyond it being free but HDHPs are only really good for healthy people (who otherwise don't need the coverage, so cheap is good and HSA contributions build up) or wealthy people who have several thousand to spare to plow into the HSA. I was fortunate that I built up my HSA over the years so when I needed the money for PT and meds last year that it wasn't a loss, but I'd never have spend the liquid funding for the PT I had if not.
Sadly, I do think insurers realize a lot of this...many just don't care or see the bottom line and that's all that matters. It's honestly truly messed up that people are justified in planning medical services or major life events over a benefit year on insurance.
MyPillow and CEO Mike Lindell hit with $1.3 billion lawsuit
Dominion Voting Systems, the election technology company that has been the focus of debunked conspiracy theories about election fraud, is suing MyPillow and its CEO Mike Lindell.
www.cnn.com
On another note, when I saw this breaking news story pop up on my phone I read it at first as Dominos.
Supreme Court denies election appeal from Pennsylvania Republicans
The Supreme Court on Monday denied an appeal from Republicans challenging a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision that allowed ballots received up to three days after Election Day to be counted to accommodate challenges by the coronavirus pandemic.
www.cnn.com
No surprise here
Having recently been diagnosed with Adult Onset Type 1 diabetes, I totally understand. My A1C was insane (15.3) and now I’m on two different kinds of insulin as well as oral meds. I have to have the insulin or I can quite literally fall into a diabetic coma and die.
I got insulin samples from my doctor to get me going. When I went to fill my prescriptions, my insurance company refused to cover one of them. One vial lasts 3-4 weeks and come in 5 vial packages. The cost of just one of the insulin prescriptions (the one they refused) was $1100. The other covered one is $600.
I called my doctor and she called in the same thing as the refused insulin. Same thing different brand. Covered by insurance. I’m very fortunate. My meds cost me $30 per month and doctor visits are $60.
I have a coworker that was just diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. She is on our lowest plan. It does her no good having insurance because of the $6500 deductible before insurance kicks in. So she’s not getting treatment at all.
This is the trend I am seeing in my data.
If Biden does allow people 60+ to have Medicare, there will be a deluge of people who have put off medical treatment for about 10 years or so, and we are going to have problems with funding moving forward. It's such an astronomically stupid strategy. Let's not pay a dime for people's healthcare until they are old and their healthcare is really, really expensive. Then we should cover 80% of all costs, which will, of course, be way more expensive than giving people support while they are relatively young and healthy, and help them manage their chronic conditions while it's still cost effective to do so. We could keep people healthy for just as much, if not less, than what it costs to bandage people up at 65, after a lifetime of inadequate or no healthcare at all.
Insulin is one of the oldest drugs and cheapest drugs to make. Yet the price in the United States continues to sky rocket.
Many people travel to Mexico to buy the same Insulin. Paying full price in Mexico with cash saves a lot of money for many who still can't afford it in the United States with insurance.
There is an issue, but the explanation they give us is hogwash. They say it's more expensive in the United States because we have a different healthcare system and have to pay for the middle man.
When in reality it is nothing more than everyone trying to maximize the absolute most they can get out of it.
Many people travel to Mexico to buy the same Insulin. Paying full price in Mexico with cash saves a lot of money for many who still can't afford it in the United States with insurance.
There is an issue, but the explanation they give us is hogwash. They say it's more expensive in the United States because we have a different healthcare system and have to pay for the middle man.
When in reality it is nothing more than everyone trying to maximize the absolute most they can get out of it.
The latest conspiracy theory I heard from my father is that Price Charles died last week. They are holding off on the death announcement until an ideal time to distract from other headlines...
ayayrawn
Well-Known Member
prince phillip? would be even wilder in charles bit it before either of them.
The Mayo Clinic nailed it when they sited big pharma monopolies as the main reason that insulin is so unaffordable.
Insulin pricing in the United States is the consequence of the exact opposite of a free market: extended monopoly on a lifesaving product in which prices can be increased at will, taking advantage of regulatory and legal restrictions on market entry and importation.
Check out the list of references at the end of the article for more on all of this.
Actually, not sure. In one text he said Prince Phillip, in the other he says Prince Charles.
The first text he sent is he heard that Price Phillip is receiving end of life care and the Queen is being updated hourly. The second one was that he heard that price Charles actually died last Saturday.
Oh geez, your dad....
Here's the actual story:
A family moment sparked controversy when Prince Charles visited Prince Philip at King Edward VII’s Hospital on Saturday, Feb. 20. The Duke of Cornwall traveled to London and spent around half an hour at the facility, where the policy is to only allow visitors in “exceptional circumstances” due to COVID-19, per the Associated Press. Though Charles’ time at the hospital was short, the online debate surrounding it has not been.
Philip, the 99-year-old husband of Queen Elizabeth II, was hospitalized on Tuesday, Feb. 16, per the BBC. Buckingham Palace kept the specifics of his health private but did say he’d been admitted “as a precautionary measure.” Yet, given the restrictions other Britons are living under, many Twitter users felt it was unfair for the prince to able to have visitors. Some shared stories of their own loved ones who were hospitalized or even died alone during the pandemic.
Why Prince Charles Visiting Prince Philip In The Hospital Proved Controversial
When Prince Charles visited his father, Prince Philip, at King Edward VII’s Hospital in London on Feb. 20, an online debate began.
People didn't think it was fair that he got to see his dad in the hospital, when so many others have not gotten to see loved ones in the hospital due to Covid restrictions.
debianlinux
Well-Known Member
While I am compassionate towards any human’s grief and struggles I really don’t give a single shit about the goings on of the monarchy. To act as if the people exalted above all others get to do something unfair is just so stupid to start talking about I have to back away before I get sucked into some stupidity singularity.
This is good. I hope it actually passes.
An effort to end forced arbitration that was previously passed by the House, with help from Google employees, is being revived in Washington on Thursday.
The Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal (FAIR) Act would ban agreements like mandatory arbitration, which takes away the rights of people to take legal action and participate in class-action lawsuits in case of employment, consumer, antitrust and civil rights disputes. It would allow employees to sue their employers in cases of wage theft, harassment or discrimination, or customers to sue companies over fraud, privacy violations, product liability and more.
www.marketwatch.com
An effort to end forced arbitration that was previously passed by the House, with help from Google employees, is being revived in Washington on Thursday.
The Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal (FAIR) Act would ban agreements like mandatory arbitration, which takes away the rights of people to take legal action and participate in class-action lawsuits in case of employment, consumer, antitrust and civil rights disputes. It would allow employees to sue their employers in cases of wage theft, harassment or discrimination, or customers to sue companies over fraud, privacy violations, product liability and more.
FAIR Act is being revived in Washington, raising hopes for end to forced arbitration
An effort to end forced arbitration that was previously passed by the House, with help from Google employees, is being revived in Washington.
www.marketwatch.com
