Anyone have a Christian Medshare policy?

[ultrarunner]

Yelp Reviews?

My facility is overwhelming all positive reviews both online and Medicare random...

The only area falling short is we are dated... no glitzy anything... spacious and clean with top notch care and exceptional outcomes...

But you won't find marble and granite or inlaid logos in the floor covering, etc. and we do get comments about it...

Hospitals have a new model where they are no longer hospitals, but hospital systems. They have campus style offerings with every type of specialty housed on large, very well appointed buildings.

Once they went to this model, around 2005, the cost of care skyrocketed.

I wonder why?

 

[tractortroof]

Just curious. Are there also God-regulated cost-sharing plans for home and auto, life insurance, equipment maintenance, etc?? If not, why not?

Can’t speak for God here but the reason Samaritans does medical is because it’s so expensive and it really follows biblical principles. “Bear one another’s burdens”

 

[gsganzer]

Hospitals have a new model where they are no longer hospitals, but hospital systems. They have campus style offerings with every type of specialty housed on large, very well appointed buildings.

Once they went to this model, around 2005, the cost of care skyrocketed.

I wonder why?

I agree. In my youth, hospitals and non-private colleges were all somewhat "austere" places. That certainly isn't the case anymore. Now every hospital and college is bristling with construction cranes and none of these places are austere.

And the "hospital systems" is definitely a new thing. With my own Primary Care Physician (PCP), I could immediately see the changes when he joined the Texas Health Resources system. It's obvious that they're now being scored on their metrics for referrals for specialty consults, increasing visits etc.

I'll give a recent example:
In June, myself, wife and 2 daughters were going to Africa and anti-malarial medications were recommended. Myself, wife and oldest daughter see the same TX Health PCP and during an unrelated visit, my wife mentioned our need to get anti-malarial meds. She was told we'd all need to schedule a separate appointment, even though as our PCP, they already have our medical history. This new appointment was eventually handled as a telemed call, and it just happened that when they called me for my telemed, we were all at the table, so we did them all at the same time.

Cost? $220/telemed x 3= $660 to receive $30/meds x 3= $90. $660 for a combined telemed call to receive one of the most prescribed medications in the world!!!

Other daughter that is on Cook Childrens system? Phone call to the doctors office results in a prescription called in to local pharmacy. Cost= $30

Our healthcare system is out of control.

 

[Torvy]

Part of the problem is the non-profit nature means they have to keep sinking profits back into the business (same with universities). One of the best ways is to build elaborate facilities and compounds. If they just reduced prices, the administration of those facilities would have a harder time justifying their huge salaries and benefits. (Justification being "I manage X thousand people on facilities worth X billion dollars). It is definitely a racket.

 

[ultrarunner]

Don’t forget the sole practitioner is near extinct in many areas.

Simply the overhead and cost of compliance is a killer when it comes to overhead plus all the required ongoing training to keep up with mandates such as pronoun and cultural sensitivity.

One of our Ortho surgeons is closing his practice as his partner retired and the overhead was no longer viable.

He is now employed by the county health system part time and earning more as a part time public employee than as the owner of his practice… its across the board savings.

 

[Snobdds]

I agree. In my youth, hospitals and non-private colleges were all somewhat "austere" places. That certainly isn't the case anymore. Now every hospital and college is bristling with construction cranes and none of these places are austere.

And the "hospital systems" is definitely a new thing. With my own Primary Care Physician (PCP), I could immediately see the changes when he joined the Texas Health Resources system. It's obvious that they're now being scored on their metrics for referrals for specialty consults, increasing visits etc.

I'll give a recent example:
In June, myself, wife and 2 daughters were going to Africa and anti-malarial medications were recommended. Myself, wife and oldest daughter see the same TX Health PCP and during an unrelated visit, my wife mentioned our need to get anti-malarial meds. She was told we'd all need to schedule a separate appointment, even though as our PCP, they already have our medical history. This new appointment was eventually handled as a telemed call, and it just happened that when they called me for my telemed, we were all at the table, so we did them all at the same time.

Cost? $220/telemed x 3= $660 to receive $30/meds x 3= $90. $660 for a combined telemed call to receive one of the most prescribed medications in the world!!!

Other daughter that is on Cook Childrens system? Phone call to the doctors office results in a prescription called in to local pharmacy. Cost= $30

Our healthcare system is out of control.

I'm an actuary and sit on a risk management team for all BCBS plans.

We can't keep up with the increases we get every year from these new hospital systems. I set rates for a January effective date and by October, the rates are not keeping up with hospital charge master increases.

The day is coming when insurance will either have to build their own hospital systems to manage costs or just drop certain hospital systems. We can't afford these places anymore. We have these reimbursements, called DRG for certain procedures like, knee replacements, hip replcements etc. It's an average of what hospitals of a 5 state geographic region costs. We say a knee replacement on average costs xxx.xx. Take it or leave it and they are saying...leave it.

It's all coming to a head.

 

[gsganzer]

Don’t forget the sole practitioner is near extinct in many areas.

Simply the overhead and cost of compliance is a killer when it comes to overhead plus all the required ongoing training to keep up with mandates such as pronoun and cultural sensitivity.

One of our Ortho surgeons is closing his practice as his partner retired and the overhead was no longer viable.

He is now employed by the county health system part time and earning more as a part time public employee than as the owner of his practice… its across the board savings.

All the more evidence that we need to start working on the architecture of a national healthcare system for the United States. The only developed nation in the world without a national healthcare system, yet we spend nearly 2x the percentage of our GDP compared to the next lowest and more than 4x than a number of other countries.

And before anyone spouts the spoon fed response of "but people come to the US for the best care", take a look at the actual statistics. In fact, we'd probably be surprised at how many folks go to Mexico and other countries, because it's the only care they can afford. Heck, even Steve Jobs went to Switzerland because they had a more advanced hormonal cancer treatment.

Surely, out of all the other developed nations with a national healthcare system and their years of track records, we can devise some type of national system, private system or hybrid system that allows us to lower our healthcare costs.

Rant over.

 

[Snobdds]

All the more evidence that we need to start working on the architecture of a national healthcare system for the United States. The only developed nation in the world without a national healthcare system, yet we spend nearly 2x the percentage of our GDP compared to the next lowest and more than 4x than a number of other countries.

And before anyone spouts the spoon fed response of "but people come to the US for the best care", take a look at the actual statistics. In fact, we'd probably be surprised at how many folks go to Mexico and other countries, because it's the only care they can afford. Heck, even Steve Jobs went to Switzerland because they had a more advanced hormonal cancer treatment.

Surely, out of all the other developed nations with a national healthcare system and their years of track records, we can devise some type of national system, private system or hybrid system that allows us to lower our healthcare costs.

Rant over.

A national healthcare system would not work in the US. Doctors and nurses will not be told what type of income they can make. It was initially tried when Obamacare was being crafted and that road block was quickly realized. But that is what it would take. Telling a Dr. that they can only make 150k a year while also telling them they need 300k worth of education to get a medical certificate.

The US healthcare system subsides the world via new procedures and Rx R&D. A person can go and get a Humira pen in Mexico for $50. But in the US, it's $3,000.

Find a way to export R&D costs to other countries and you will have solved why US healthcare costs so much.

 

[ultrarunner]

I'm an actuary and sit on a risk management team for all BCBS plans.

We can't keep up with the increases we get every year from these new hospital systems. I set rates for a January effective date and by October, the rates are not keeping up with hospital charge master increases.

The day is coming when insurance will either have to build their own hospital systems to manage costs or just drop certain hospital systems. We can't afford these places anymore. We have these reimbursements, called DRG for certain procedures like, knee replacements, hip replcements etc. It's an average of what hospitals of a 5 state geographic region costs. We say a knee replacement on average costs xxx.xx. Take it or leave it and they are saying...leave it.

It's all coming to a head.

Yes… large hospital groups are saying no and then the patients scream the insurance they pay for is no good… this happens especially in regions with few alternatives.

Kaiser is huge here and it’s a complete system… Hospitals, Out Outpatient, Doctors, Labs, Pharmacy.

It’s either go big or slowly fade away it seems.

I’m not affiliated but mention because it is often held as a model for the future… it does offer a kind of one stop shopping.

There are otherwise many variables… in net work or not, not just the surgeon or facility but also anesthesia, lab, etc.

I see many surprised to shocked to canceling a procedure when a patient says I already paid for this at the office… not realizing hospital, anesthesia, lab might also be incurred.

 

[gsganzer]

The US healthcare system subsides the world via new procedures and Rx R&D. A person can go and get a Humira pen in Mexico for $50. But in the US, it's $3,000.

Find a way to export R&D costs to other countries and you will have solved why US healthcare costs so much.

One way to export R&D costs is to start allowing our largest health insurers, Medicare and Medicaid, which account for nearly 40% of health insurance coverage, to start negotiating drug prices. Just like the other countries do. Or, allow Medicare and Medicaid to purchase medicines from other countries that have FDA approved procurement/resale systems.