Medical Cost

[gsganzer]

I'd like to see health insurance completely divorced from employment. Too many people have no idea what it actually costs because their employer pays a big chunk of it. If everyone had to actually pay for it then there's be more people voting to fix it and pressuring their representativs.

I agree, we should have never had a system that relied on employers offering insurance.

 

[ultrarunner]

I'd like to see health insurance completely divorced from employment. Too many people have no idea what it actually costs because their employer pays a big chunk of it. If everyone had to actually pay for it then there's be more people voting to fix it and pressuring their representativs.

Similar for higher education with grants, loans, etc.

There are plenty of non profits and not for profit organizations in Health Care.

The thing to remember is these are business models…

That said we had a premier Catholic Hospital with over 80% tied to charity… large for profits and not for profits donated money so the patients would not come to them…

The problem and the reason they are no longer here is mandated family planning services… the nuns asked for a religious exemption and were denied…

The nuns left California saying to remain violates the very essence of their mission.

A twist is for profit out patient facilities that consistently deliver high quality at lower cost…

The advantages are they get paid for the procedures performed without the overhead of providing emergency services…

 

[ultrarunner]

I agree, we should have never had a system that relied on employers offering insurance.

Thank WWII and massive public works projects for Kaiser becoming what it is.

 

[gsganzer]

So, do folks think healthcare should go back to being a "service", such as water, electricity, gas and telecommunications versus a "for profit" model? Just opening the topic for discussion.

 

[orezok]

We occasionally have to use outpatient services at a hospital in the Coachella Valley. The only hospital up here in the boonies is pretty much just a clinic.

Eisenhower hospital is the largest hospital in the valley and is the only one offering many many specialties that no one else has.

They are the only non-profit hospital.

Eisenhower Health in Rancho Mirage, California, is ranked as a top hospital both regionally and nationally. It's recognized as the #1 hospital in the Inland Empire and #19 in California by U.S. News & World Report. The hospital also received a 5-star rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)

 

[Jstpssng]

So, do folks think healthcare should go back to being a "service", such as water, electricity, gas and telecommunications versus a "for profit" model? Just opening the topic for discussion.

I believe that the people making money should be the doctors, nurses, and other staff; not investment groups.

 

[ultrarunner]

So, do folks think healthcare should go back to being a "service", such as water, electricity, gas and telecommunications versus a "for profit" model? Just opening the topic for discussion.

I think there is room for both… especially those that like HMO and those that do not… just like Medicare and Medicare Advantage.

Unless you have religious working for a vocation, payroll is huge… plenty of other ways to earn a living aside from medical school and internship and practicing medicine…

 

[JasperFrank]

As a preamble, I'm not an MD, or a licensed healthcare professional.

One way to improve that might be to give the networks permission to access the other network's information. I've had to do it a couple of times, and then professionals on all sides can see everyone's prescriptions, and perhaps more importantly, their internal software has a chance to flag potential counter indications and side effects.

As a general comment: clinical trials to approve any given drug are generally set up so the single drug is given to one group of patients and the current "recommended" drug is given to the other. For some trials, the two groups may be switched half way through. Unless disease or disorder requires multiple drugs as a starting point, most drugs aren't tested with other drugs. That means that drug interactions between two or more drugs are almost entirely worked out in patients after approvals, with patients who have a variety of disease(s) states, and backgrounds. So if drug #1 plus 2,3,4 causes something unwanted, often all four drugs will get tagged with a contraindication, even though some other combination of those drugs with a fifth, or all but one, might work.

I think that multiple drug therapy is very complicated, but when the doctor decides that the patient needs it, that's not my call.

All the best, Peter

She did give the permissions to share info across the various docs. They just don't seem to care or access that info. But it is there, if we insist that they look at it. But like I said, the meds are always being changed up. And those changes are slow to get into the system. Its sometimes after a visit one doc will call, and say you need to stop taking this or that, after they do review the totality of the drugs. Very frustrating. Cause its usually not the proscribing doc.

 

[ponytug]

She did give the permissions to share info across the various docs. They just don't seem to care or access that info. But it is there, if we insist that they look at it. But like I said, the meds are always being changed up. And those changes are slow to get into the system. Its sometimes after a visit one doc will call, and say you need to stop taking this or that, after they do review the totality of the drugs. Very frustrating. Cause its usually not the proscribing doc.

You and your wife have my sympathies. Long Covid is tough. Sometimes there is information about ME/CFS and MCAS that can be helpful. Good luck.

All the best, Peter

 

[Mtsoxfan]

I don't have a problem with employers offering a healthcare plan. It is a benefit to all employees. My issue is with the for profit hospitals. Affordable healthcare starts when people aren't making money off of others health needs. We will never stop the outrageous prescription prices, too many are lining their pockets by keeping them high.