tazzygirl
Posts: 37833
Joined: 10/12/2007 Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: MariaB Whilst the 'Bridges to Health' programme may be reducing costs and improving care and Kudos to them for trying, this is only a tiny drop in a very big ocean. The real problem is a staggering $14,004 per person for seven visits to the emergency room for none emergency treatment. That is $2,000 per visit?!?! I don't know if anyone here has read T.R. Reid's book, 'The Healing of America' but anyone who wants a good understanding of how to provide good medical care to all at affordable prices, need to look at and understand how other systems in developed countries work and compare that with health care in the United States. I live in France where 77% of my medical bills are paid for by government organizations. The rest is automatically deducted from my salary. If I become unemployed that 23% is wavered. When a foreign friend was recently here on a visit and had to be taken to the emergency room, her bill was 72 Euro (around 72 dollars). That included a medical examination, an x-ray and antibiotics and a re-visit. I bet she's glad she wasn't in an American ER department. The truth is, you, as American medical consumers have no idea what your healthcare truly costs. As long as America is allowed to profit for medicine, insurance premiums will continue to rise and yet more millions will become uninsured. Its called cost shifting. Costs from those who cant pay are shifted onto those who can. Then insurance companies contract with hospitals to pay x amount of the bill. An example of just room and board hospital fees...and only because Ohio law requires them to be posted.... ROOM AND BOARD — PER DAY CHARGES SEMI-PRIVATE $1321-$1650 PRIVATE $1321-$1650 REHABILITATION $1,958.00 INTERMEDIATE (STEP DOWN) $2,874.00 ICU $4,295.00 NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE $4,520.00 VAGINAL BIRTH-LOW RISK $7,158.00 VAGINAL BIRTH-HIGH RISK $12,389.00 AMNIOCENTESIS $590.00 Emergency Department charges are based on the level of emergency care provided to our patients. The levels, with level 1 representing basic emergency care, reflect the type of accommodations needed, the personnel resources, the intensity of care and the amount of time needed to provide treatment. The following charges do not include fees for drugs, supplies or additional ancillary procedures that may be required for a particular emergency treatment. They also do not include fees for Emergency Department physicians, who will bill separately for their services. EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT CHARGE EMER RM SERV-LEV 1 $269.00 EMER RM SERV-LEV 2 $518.00 EMER RM SERV-LEV 3 $948.00 EMER RM SERV-LEV 4 $1,479.00 EMER RM SERV-LEV 5 $2,197.00 CRITICAL CARE $4,012.00 http://medicalcenter.osu.edu/patientcare/patient_and_visitor_information/financial_information/hospital_fees/pages/index.aspx The information is out there.... many just want to keep it hidden. Last thing these places want people to do is comparison shop.
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Telling me to take Midol wont help your butthurt. RIP, my demon-child 5-16-11 Duchess of Dissent 1 Dont judge me because I sin differently than you. If you want it sugar coated, dont ask me what i think! It would violate TOS.
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