Insured 20 year old man stuck with $11,000 hospital bill

Tell this story to a Canadian or a UK citizen. They'd be astonished and angry at our government for letting that happen to its citizens.

 

The stupidity of it all was that my son and his family had excellent private insurance coverage.

I don't know if Obamacare is the answer, but we have to do something.

Spoke with a young doc (almost 50) that I admire a great deal.. a family friend.. He's BC Internal medicine.. He's optimistic, but thinks it will take ten years to get the bugs out of the system.

 

That's your first mistake!

 

Its obvious this gentleman had a very high deductable. When Obama Care went into effect---many people were knocked off their insurance and offered more expensive higher deductable options. So our government whom you trust is not against the high deductable.

High deductables can be a good choice for a young single person---but it comes with risk as well. $11,000 dollars may seem like a lot to you----but trust me when you pay a $15,000 back tax bill like I did, or a $16,000 car, or a $20,000 school loan---its just a part of life. We pay for things. We don't expect others to dish out for us. Under a liberal system that pays for healthcare---it wouldn't be fair. Because YOU may only dish out a couple of hundred in taxes each paycheck---but some guy who works 80 hours a week is dishing out $2000---paying that "fair" share of more then anyone else.

You are comfortable depending on politicians to make your healthcare decisions and you consider them good stewards of your money and an entity that can be fair in how much money it takes from each individual to pay for their spending---To me that is naive.

 

I don't consider them good stewards. I consider them stewards with the right bosses and right influences. It's not perfect but it's better than a system which relies solely on profit. Profit is the one thing that should not be considered in life or death situations.

 

Lets put this a little light into this healthcare debate:

Note from a gov. source:

5% of the population accounts for 50% of healthcare spending....

2002 population: 281 million
2002 Healthcare spending: 1.5 trillion or $5,267 per capita
Switzerland had second highest at $3,074 per capita

Healthcare spending in 2002 minus the effects of 5% top users:
$765 Billion among 266 million people = $2,876 per capita.

If you take on government healthcare that is what will happen, costly procedures will be ignored and sidelined in an effort to hold down costs.

Government already accounts for over half the healthcare spending in this country, insurance is one of the most overly regulated industries. We don't have pro market policies we have a government created Frankenstein that will leap into a full government run system or hopefully be put down for a real more free market system.

On a side note I would hate to see what happens to healthcare technology advancements if we went full government system.

 

I'm on the capitalist side of the political divide but I tend to cross the house on some issues, health care being one.
The British NHS is far from perfect, mostly because of daft socialist ideals, but the idea can work well.
It's true, taxes have to rise but the cost is nothing when you consider how much good such system would do.
You'd have to avoid the stupidity we see in the NHS by not funding sex change operations that take scarce money from life saving surgery and you've have to have real managers, not dumplings applying socialist ideals and expecting a hospital to run properly.

Much of the lobby area and other strategic points could be rented out to businesses, or the hospital could run those outlets, creating profit, so reducing costs to the taxpayer and, bonus, creating employment..
I'll people and their visitors need to shop as well.
Cosmetic surgery could be undertaken as a business within these free hospitals, again generating cash for the free health system, as could a top class, hotel style healthcare section for people that want special care in luxury and are willing to pay for it.
If you want a socialist healthcare system, you have to run it like a capitalist if you want it to work without costing the taxpayers a fortune.

 

Coming from you. The same poster who bragged on this forum about being on food stamps while not working. The same poster who had an xbox 360 and plenty of time to post on here.

 

No, it does not. This isn't the Marxist states of America as much as you want it to be. Government cannot require someone to purchase something.

 

Yup. And thanks to not having to get a job while I was going to school full time I was able to graduate quicker and get a full time job at a company that values me a lot. They value me so much in fact that when I told them I had to leave the company because I was planning on moving to be closer to my family they offered to pay for my move and they bought me a computer so I could work from home. But you're right. I clearly lack all work ethic because I was on food stamps in college instead of delaying my graduation so I could get a job along with my 60 hour a week studying/in class time and my 16 hour a week internship. (*)(*)(*)(*) me for having an xbox 360 worth less than a month of groceries.

 

The ACA doesn't make anyone get insurance if you opt out and are not under a hardship provision you pay the Personal Responsibility Fee off your taxes when you get a return. And the government requires participation in lots of things they can draft you during war, you have to pay into Social Security and Medicare.

 

I'd be down with elective surgeries such as sex changes and plastic surgery helping to fund the healthcare system. I think that sounds like a great idea actually.

 

I find it very surprising that so many people do not realize
what you are saying is true about all private enterprise

 

You know what Bill I've got a great idea. You pay for it. Ya, you pay for it.

When I get sick I'm coming to you because you're going to pay for it. When my car breaks down or it needs some new tires I'm coming to you because you're going to pay for it. When house is looking a little dull and I'd really like a professional remodel I'm coming to you because you're going to pay for it. When that new PS4 game comes out and I just really don't feel like using my own money I'm coming to you because you're going to pay for it.

You will now pay for anything I want you to because I say so.

Now ..go back and replace "I" with "Big Socialist Liberal Oppressive Government" and "you" with "those of us already taking care of ourselves" and you'll start to see that you're on the wrong damn side of this.

Go ahead call me disgusting and selfish I honestly don't give a damn. That is the only tactic you liberals have because nothing short of childish name-calling can rationalize this economic enslavement.

 

Taxcutter says:
Nope. That's something I get right. Over-reliance on government is a huge step down the road to being like the old USSR.

 

You think?

No. . .obviously not!

 

Sadly, this is going to be the reality for anyone that has a serious medical condition.

 

Chances are this kid probably has a five or six thousand dollar deductible anyway.

 

You are right there is a larger percentage that do not pay taxes. Half of the businesses in the U.S. do not pay taxes and 45% of individual tax payers do not pay taxes.

 

60 hour week studying/in class time

You really are a trip.

 

In Libya, they had free medical care and everyone got $1,000 (US) per month. But we glorious self righteous USA folks put an end to that.
We deserve to get the shaft.
And, "nature's God" is letting us get it in many ways.
Our current "medical care" system is part of God's Judgment on us.
It's like Moses said, "Those who hate you shall rule over you" until after you repent. Leviticus 26:17