TexasCHLforum.com

cb1000rider wrote:

VMI77 wrote:he medical profession is exempted from monopoly and restraint of trade laws. The whole system is a government facilitated rip-off. Unless that changes, yep, only the rich well be able to afford healthcare and those who are on the government tab will not be treated for certain conditions because it costs too much. Already happening in the UK.

Break it down for me. Locally, there are probably 50 or more "family practice" doctors. I'd say that's a reasonable level of competition.

However, they don't compete.... I can't really can't shop around due to insurance.

It seems like there's a real problem with the insurance implementation.
If I walk into a family practice doctor, no insurance, but able to pay, I'm likely to spend $200-$250 for a few minutes of that doctors time.
With insurance, the payment to the doctor drops to about 60% of that - say $120 or so... Even though having insurance costs the doctor much more to process than having cash.
My out of pocket with insurance? Maybe $20 or so... Not counting the $750 or so that my employer and I are spending every month for that coverage.

It just seems very backwards to me. Dental care is the same way.

However, I can go down to Mexico and for some procedures where the standard of care and technology are on par, I may pay 75-85% less than the prevailing cash rate...

I don't claim to have a solution, I'm just claiming that the only thing worse than Obamacare would be allowing the status-quo for another 2 decades. And I might be wrong on that - both may implode.

cb1000rider wrote:It essentially means that you'll have to be very well to do to afford healthcare and that everyone else will be on government rolls or we'd have to decide not to treat conditions due to financial reasons.

03Lightningrocks wrote:

TomsTXCHL wrote:

mojo84 wrote:I firmly believe a lot of the reason we're in this situation we're in now is because we started expecting insurance to cover routine and minor medical expenses.

Zackly right--insurance USED TO be something you bought "just in case" you had an unexpected problem and needed assistance with the bucks. But now it's morphed (warped?) into something entirely different hasn't it.

What we have had instead is "group healthcare" where you pay monthly and an "insurance company" e.g. Blue Cross has negotiated discounted services and pays providers for those because you're a card-carrying, dues-paying client of their.

This arrangement shouldn't be called "insurance" IMHO. And as for the Affordable Care Act, I do prefer the alternate names people have used, for example in this very thread...

I believe we are in the situation we are right now because we somehow permitted the socialist party to take control of Washington by claiming to be Democrats. Then we permitted a muslim terrorist, who is determined to bring down the American way of life, to become the supreme leader. But hey, that is just the way I see it all.

baldeagle wrote:

sunny beach wrote:

03Lightningrocks wrote:

jmra wrote:Right after the spawn of satan was elected the first time I got a call from my sons first grade teacher. Apparently they were discussing how elections work and the role of President. My son very enthusiastically shared my opinions. It was all I could do not to laugh as the teacher shared his colorful comments. Took him out for ice cream after school.

I would have bought him a weeks worth of ice cream.

Just wait. Obama and Bloomberg will make that illegal too.

When that day comes, America will become a nation of law breakers.

mojo84 wrote:Just wait until private health insurance goes away completely and the federal government becomes the single payor. They will fully control healthcare then.

You year there are no death panels now. A ninety year old lady that attends our church and has been seeing her doctor regularly was just informed she is in late stages of kidney failure. When she asked if she is going to have to start dialysis, she was told they would not do dialysis on someone her age. I don't know enough about it to know if that is a medical based decision or financial.