• US health care system wastes $750B a year
    61 replies, posted
[QUOTE]The U.S. health care system squanders $750 billion a year — roughly 30 cents of every medical dollar — through unneeded care, byzantine paperwork, fraud and other waste, the influential Institute of Medicine said Thursday in a report that ties directly into the presidential campaign.President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney are accusing each other of trying to slash Medicare and put seniors at risk. But the counter-intuitive finding from the report is that deep cuts are possible without rationing, and a leaner system may even produce better quality. "Health care in America presents a fundamental paradox," said the report from an 18-member panel of prominent experts, including doctors, business people, and public officials. "The past 50 years have seen an explosion in biomedical knowledge, dramatic innovation in therapies and surgical procedures, and management of conditions that previously were fatal ... "Yet, American health care is falling short on basic dimensions of quality, outcomes, costs and equity," the report concluded. If banking worked like health care, ATM transactions would take days, the report said. If home building were like health care, carpenters, electricians and plumbers would work from different blueprints and hardly talk to each other. If shopping were like health care, prices would not be posted and could vary widely within the same store, depending on who was paying. If airline travel were like health care, individual pilots would be free to design their own preflight safety checks — or not perform one at all. How much is $750 billion? The one-year estimate of health care waste is equal to more than ten years of Medicare cuts in Obama's health care law. It's more than the Pentagon budget. It's more than enough to care for the uninsured. Getting health care costs better controlled is one of the keys to reducing the deficit, the biggest domestic challenge facing the next president. The report did not lay out a policy prescription for Medicare and Medicaid but suggested there's plenty of room for lawmakers to find a path. [/QUOTE] [URL="http://start.toshiba.com/news/read.php?rip_id=<DA14AOS80%40news.ap.org>&ps=1018"]source[/URL] whoo bullshit in the white-house everbody! Seriously though this is getting ridiculous
This is why we need to adopt Canada's and Europe's style of healthcare, instead of paying exorbitant amounts of money to see a goddamn doctor.
yeah, it doesn't help that even with healthcare they still omit a shitload of things that you have to pay fully for
[QUOTE=SpaceGhost;37564267]This is why we need to adopt Canada's and Europe's style of healthcare, instead of paying exorbitant amounts of money to see a goddamn doctor.[/QUOTE] i enjoy not paying out the ass for health care in canada but i don't enjoy waiting 6 months for an operation to get my shoulder fixed our health care system might seem perfect but there's definitely some problems still
[QUOTE=Pandamox;37564340]i enjoy not paying out the ass for health care in canada but i don't enjoy waiting 6 months for an operation to get my shoulder fixed our health care system might seem perfect but there's definitely some problems still[/QUOTE] This is the same for Britain, and we've had the NHS for 64 years. You could go private but that's very expensive here without insurance.
Not the least bit surprised...
[QUOTE=Pandamox;37564340]i enjoy not paying out the ass for health care in canada but i don't enjoy waiting 6 months for an operation to get my shoulder fixed our health care system might seem perfect but there's definitely some problems still[/QUOTE] 6 months? Wow, I've never had to wait more than a couple of weeks but mine have usually been surgeries that were fairly urgent. It just shocks me how different some people's experiences can be from one another. I do agree though that there are definitely some things that need to be fixed and it probably doesn't help that we have a doctor shortage.
[QUOTE=Aesir;37564704]6 months? Wow, I've never had to wait more than a couple of weeks but mine have usually been surgeries that were fairly urgent. It just shocks me how different some people's experiences can be from one another. I do agree though that there are definitely some things that need to be fixed and it probably doesn't help that we have a doctor shortage.[/QUOTE] socialized medicine, comes at a cost
[QUOTE=Pandamox;37564340]i enjoy not paying out the ass for health care in canada but i don't enjoy waiting 6 months for an operation to get my shoulder fixed our health care system might seem perfect but there's definitely some problems still[/QUOTE] Was it urgent? Urgent surgeries usually pass quite fast while the not so deadly ones can wait. And it makes a lot of sense too. Would you want to get your shoulder fixed at a price of someone dying?
[QUOTE=Pandamox;37564340]i enjoy not paying out the ass for health care in canada but i don't enjoy waiting 6 months for an operation to get my shoulder fixed our health care system might seem perfect but there's definitely some problems still[/QUOTE] Yeah it still needs to have some problems fixed, but paying $500 a month is pretty shitty.
I would say that France has the best system, but their government is starting to get burdened by the cost of the "best Healthcare system in the world". These things are complicated. United States is terrible at healthcare because it is a badly managed private system, but other countries are looking to reform their public systems because they simply cost too much.
[QUOTE=itisjuly;37565055]Was it urgent? Urgent surgeries usually pass quite fast while the not so deadly ones can wait. And it makes a lot of sense too. Would you want to get your shoulder fixed at a price of someone dying?[/QUOTE] it wasn't life threatening but it was urgent in the sense that for the 9 months total i was injured, i had to drop out of my provincial hockey team (which later went on to win State Wars down in the US) and i missed being scouted, and i wasn't able to work the entire time either. i obviously wouldn't want priority over someone who has a life threatening condition, but i still find it a little ridiculous that i had to wait as long as I did
Yeah, it's not the best in Poland too. In February I've went to a doctor because I've been having notorious left arm and leg pains - turns out I have some spine problems and I need a rehab. He prescribed me some rehab exercises + massages and then I went to the rehab center in the same building. I have to wait until July 2012. I hope this will still be curable next year. If not, I guess I'll be stuck with this shit until I die or something. Still better than the previous doctor though, who gave me some painkillers and ointment and those didn't help. Money wasted.
Finding waste is one thing, cleaning it up is another entirely.
[QUOTE]unneeded care[/QUOTE] Probably the biggest cost right here. I couldn't tell you how many times I've seen people on social security and medicare go in for incredibly stupid shit.
[QUOTE=Splash Attack;37566588]Probably the biggest cost right here. I couldn't tell you how many times I've seen people on social security and medicare go in for incredibly stupid shit.[/QUOTE] Haha I remember a while ago down here in Australia, hospitals (at least my local hospital) were telling people to fuck off if they came in with ridiculous things such as a cold. Well they didn't actually say fuck off but still.
[QUOTE=Splash Attack;37566588]Probably the biggest cost right here. I couldn't tell you how many times I've seen people on social security and medicare go in for incredibly stupid shit.[/QUOTE] Sometimes incredibly stupid shit can turn into incredibly deadly disease. We have special doctors to deal with these little things and pass patients on if there's a sign of something more serious.
[QUOTE=uzikus;37566243]I have to wait until [B]July 2012[/B]. [/QUOTE] If the Polish health care system involves going back in time, your country may need some reform.
[QUOTE=Antdawg;37566748]Haha I remember a while ago down here in Australia, hospitals (at least my local hospital) were telling people to fuck off if they came in with ridiculous things such as a cold. Well they didn't actually say fuck off but still.[/QUOTE] People need to realize that you can poke your head into a clinic if you aren't feeling the best. Normally they can tell you if its anything you should worry about.
[QUOTE=Pandamox;37564340]i enjoy not paying out the ass for health care in canada but i don't enjoy waiting 6 months for an operation to get my shoulder fixed our health care system might seem perfect but there's definitely some problems still[/QUOTE] everything has pros and cons
[QUOTE=Pandamox;37564340]i enjoy not paying out the ass for health care in canada but i don't enjoy waiting 6 months for an operation to get my shoulder fixed our health care system might seem perfect but there's definitely some problems still[/QUOTE] It beats Getting absolutely reamed with hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt because your insurance provider said "lol fuck you" when you needed insurance the most and cancel their coverage of you.
[QUOTE=Madman_Andre;37567874]It beats Getting absolutely reamed with hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt because your insurance provider said "lol fuck you" when you needed insurance the most and cancel their coverage of you.[/QUOTE] This. Or because they deny you because your treatment was "experimental".. Keeping insurance companies as a middleman inherently says that healthcare is about profit and not about actually healing and care.
[QUOTE=SpaceGhost;37564267]This is why we need to adopt Canada's and Europe's style of healthcare, instead of paying exorbitant amounts of money to see a goddamn doctor.[/QUOTE] What the government gives you, you pay back in tax.
profit is an inherent waste built into america's healthcare system so i'm going to guess that $750 Billion is lowballing it
I'm in the medical equipment business and I can't even begin to tell you how much money is wasted. We do equipment checks at six month intervals and easily 25% of our oxygen patients don't use the machines at all. You could look at the meter and see that someone prescribed 2 LPM of oxygen 24/7 has used it for 2 hours in six months, but that doesn't stop us from billing Medicare or Medicaid $250 a month to rent the damn things. We do hospice equipment too and it's just as bad. Fuckin $700 a month (minimum one month billing) charged to Medicare to provide an air mattress for someone to spend the last 24 hours of their life on because some hospice nurse is afraid of getting sued if the patient develops bedsores...an hour before they DIE. When you add up oxygen, a hospital bed, a patient lift (for a patient that will never leave their bed again), an air mattress, a shitton of assorted other equipment...somebody getting sent home from the hospital to die with their family in a day or two can easily cost $2000 or more, and that's for EQUIPMENT. Not even getting into the cost of hospice care. Half these people are practically destitute and charging everything to Medicare or Medicaid, for medical equipment that just sits around and wastes space or helps the hospice agency dodge liability. Can't just lay in your own bed and die anymore, we gotta charge all this shit to you, and no you don't get to choose different, cheaper providers. If you wanna go home and die on hospice care in this city, you're stuck with us. $750 billion in medical care waste per year? Shit, I can't believe it's not trillions.
[QUOTE=Chernarus;37568135]What the government gives you, you pay back in tax.[/QUOTE] Not the exact cost, of course. The cost is spread out over the entire population with a portion of what is obtained from taxes being used for Healthcare. So if you need serious surgery you won't be seeing $40,000+ added onto your taxes for that year. At least, that's the case in Canada.
From personal experinces, i rather have some healthcare than none. My mom almost died from partial heart failure that could have been prevented, but we couldnt afford to go to an professional let alone a ER. I havent had a check up in years due to insurance being so fucking expensive. Like a prime example was my mom's cardiologist for the day popping in for 10 minutes to ask some simple questions, then never seeing him again. When we get the bill, he wanted 2 grand to cover his fee of asking a handfull of questions. Hell they charged my sister $100 for spend the night in the chair next to my mom's bed.
[QUOTE=Aesir;37568807]Not the exact cost, of course. The cost is spread out over the entire population with a portion of what is obtained from taxes being used for Healthcare. So if you need serious surgery you won't be seeing $40,000+ added onto your taxes for that year. At least, that's the case in Canada.[/QUOTE] My point was many Americans would be severely angry if they had to pay the tax we do.
[QUOTE=codemaster85;37568992]From personal experinces, i rather have some healthcare than none. My mom almost died from partial heart failure that could have been prevented, but we couldnt afford to go to an professional let alone a ER. I havent had a check up in years due to insurance being so fucking expensive. Like a prime example was my mom's cardiologist for the day popping in for 10 minutes to ask some simple questions, then never seeing him again. When we get the bill, he wanted 2 grand to cover his fee of asking a handfull of questions. Hell they charged my sister $100 for spend the night in the chair next to my mom's bed.[/QUOTE] Exactly. I keep hearing from my friend of mine that it would really suck to have to wait to get something done. My thought is that it would also suck to take on insurmountable amounts of debt for a low income employee who can't afford insurance, or just deal with it. Pretty easy for someone for someone to say who has all their healthcare paid for by the military (because his dad is in the national guard). I'm lucky that I am under my parent's insurance (which my dad has to work two jobs for).
[QUOTE=SpaceGhost;37564267]This is why we need to adopt Canada's and Europe's style of healthcare, instead of paying exorbitant amounts of money to see a goddamn doctor.[/QUOTE] There are more reasons pertaining to the waste of money than merely private healthcare. Yes it would be preferable in my opinion. But the article points out that a lot of the waste stems from a lack of standardized system, wasted time, and mass lack of communication. Which the current system could likely fix knowing the speed at which private industry can move at.
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