quote:

ORIGINAL: BoiJen

Health insurance companies work the same way. Just after that surgery where there will be scar tissue build up and any agitation will only inflame the issue, the insurance company will not cover a specific treatment to reduce scar tissue that only costs $100/month for the next two years. Rather, the insurance company would pay for a secondary surgery to remove the scar tissue 4 years down the line which will cost more than $30,000 to perform. The reason is because they think they are saving potential dollars and increasing their potential profit margin by not paying out preventative measures. It's not about the insured's well being, it's about the gamble in which someone's health is at risk as opposed to someone else's paycheck.

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ORIGINAL: Kirata

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ORIGINAL: BoiJen

It's not about the insured's well being, it's about the gamble....

And therein lies the major flaw in the whole scheme. But unfortunately, a government-run program is going to have the same shortcomings. Whether it's profit motive calculations or cost-benefit analyses, the end result in the same. Nothing is going to change until we accept the fact that you can't put a dollar value on health and well-being, and that providing the best possible health-care for our citizens is first and foremost a matter of ethics, not economics.

K.

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ORIGINAL: Sanity


No tazzy, the point isn't "blame" the point is that we need to address the waste and fraud and other abuses in the system prior to expanding it.

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ORIGINAL: willbeurdaddy

quote:

ORIGINAL: Kirata

And therein lies the major flaw in the whole scheme. But unfortunately, a government-run program is going to have the same shortcomings. Whether it's profit motive calculations or cost-benefit analyses, the end result in the same. Nothing is going to change until we accept the fact that you can't put a dollar value on health and well-being, and that providing the best possible health-care for our citizens is first and foremost a matter of ethics, not economics.

K.

But that isnt a fact, thats an (incorrect) opinion. The fact is that ultimately this is an economic debate and eventually there must be a dollar value put on health, well-being, death etc. The issue is whether incurring whatever dollar value IS put on health, is a societal responsibility, an indiviudal responsibility or shared responsbility, and if shared to what extent.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Kirata

quote:

ORIGINAL: rulemylife

* Unnecessary care such as the overuse of antibiotics and lab tests to protect against malpractice exposure makes up 37 percent of healthcare waste or $200 to $300 billion a year.

This one is a bit scary. I'll go with the overuse of antibiotics, but not the rest of it. Tests "to protect against malpractice" suggests to me that if they didn't check these things out before sending a patient home, they'd be negligent if something happened. That's not my idea of "waste".

K.

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ORIGINAL: BoiJen

I'm going to check the moon charts cuz I agree with Kirata on this.

boi

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ORIGINAL: rulemylife

Anyone want to tell me again how we can't afford a health reform bill that the Congressional Budget Office estimates would cost $829 billion over a ten-year period?



Healthcare system wastes up to $800 billion a year


WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. healthcare system is just as wasteful as President Barack Obama says it is, and proposed reforms could be paid for by fixing some of the most obvious inefficiencies, preventing mistakes and fighting fraud, according to a Thomson Reuters report released on Monday.

The U.S. healthcare system wastes between $505 billion and $850 billion every year, the report from Robert Kelley, vice president of healthcare analytics at Thomson Reuters, found.

.......One example -- a paper-based system that discourages sharing of medical records accounts for 6 percent of annual overspending.

"It is waste when caregivers duplicate tests because results recorded in a patient's record with one provider are not available to another or when medical staff provides inappropriate treatment because relevant history of previous treatment cannot be accessed," the report reads.

Some other findings in the report from Thomson Reuters, the parent company of Reuters:

* Unnecessary care such as the overuse of antibiotics and lab tests to protect against malpractice exposure makes up 37 percent of healthcare waste or $200 to $300 billion a year.

* Fraud makes up 22 percent of healthcare waste, or up to $200 billion a year in fraudulent Medicare claims, kickbacks for referrals for unnecessary services and other scams.

* Administrative inefficiency and redundant paperwork account for 18 percent of healthcare waste.

* Medical mistakes account for $50 billion to $100 billion in unnecessary spending each year, or 11 percent of the total.

* Preventable conditions such as uncontrolled diabetes cost $30 billion to $50 billion a year.

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ORIGINAL: Esinn

quote:

ORIGINAL: rulemylife

Anyone want to tell me again how we can't afford a health reform bill that the Congressional Budget Office estimates would cost $829 billion over a ten-year period?



Healthcare system wastes up to $800 billion a year


WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. healthcare system is just as wasteful as President Barack Obama says it is, and proposed reforms could be paid for by fixing some of the most obvious inefficiencies, preventing mistakes and fighting fraud, according to a Thomson Reuters report released on Monday.

The U.S. healthcare system wastes between $505 billion and $850 billion every year, the report from Robert Kelley, vice president of healthcare analytics at Thomson Reuters, found.

.......One example -- a paper-based system that discourages sharing of medical records accounts for 6 percent of annual overspending.

"It is waste when caregivers duplicate tests because results recorded in a patient's record with one provider are not available to another or when medical staff provides inappropriate treatment because relevant history of previous treatment cannot be accessed," the report reads.

Some other findings in the report from Thomson Reuters, the parent company of Reuters:

* Unnecessary care such as the overuse of antibiotics and lab tests to protect against malpractice exposure makes up 37 percent of healthcare waste or $200 to $300 billion a year.

* Fraud makes up 22 percent of healthcare waste, or up to $200 billion a year in fraudulent Medicare claims, kickbacks for referrals for unnecessary services and other scams.

* Administrative inefficiency and redundant paperwork account for 18 percent of healthcare waste.

* Medical mistakes account for $50 billion to $100 billion in unnecessary spending each year, or 11 percent of the total.

* Preventable conditions such as uncontrolled diabetes cost $30 billion to $50 billion a year.

It is simple...  We stop an illegal multi-trillion dollar war.

800 billion is what $100-1,000 per year per person?  If there was a 1-4% chance you paying an additional 1-3 dollars a day might help 1-20 people you would not take that chance?

The fact is the current system is absolutely broken.  Bless your pretty heart it still works for you, I am happy.  However, someone is dying now, someone is going into bankruptcy, someone is in pain, someone is watching a child die and another might be losing a home because of this current broken system.

Yes, yes.... I know, I know they are all probably Mexican.  But statistically speaking at least 10 of them are probably sexy single white mothers who give awesome blow jobs.  Even if you think the Mexicans are not worth saving(they might not be who knows) surely a blow job from a single mom is.  I assure you there are more than 10.

I am not saying it is you.  But any prick who will not openly and happily give $1-3 a day to better the lives of 10 white people is not worthy to share the air I breathe(Obviously just a morbid analogy)

(Also note some sarcasm  But I have heard numerous people INRL(in real life) say on more occasion it is only non-whites who are uninsured).  This clearly implies they do not care about non-white people. I can also dig up some youtube videos. 

The fact remains even if 99% of uninsured people are non-white.  Even if 99.9% of uninsured people abuse the right Obama wishes to bestow upon us there will still be .1 - 1% of healthy, moral and kind white people this bill will save.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Esinn

It is simple...  We stop an illegal multi-trillion dollar war.

800 billion is what $100-1,000 per year per person?  If there was a 1-4% chance you paying an additional 1-3 dollars a day might help 1-20 people you would not take that chance?

The fact is the current system is absolutely broken.  Bless your pretty heart it still works for you, I am happy.

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ORIGINAL: rulemylife

Isn't that an amazing concept.

Now we need to put a hold on health care reform to address the abuses of health care before we can consider reform.

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ORIGINAL: Raiikun


But if you're gonna disagree with him, at least disagree with what he's actually saying. =)