[jlisenbe]

Okay smart guy, you tell me why health care is so expensive and why the capitalist market hasn't solved that and why the price goes up and up and up where only the rich can afford it and the poor go without!

Again.

I guess it's similar to a fast food environment in which only McDonald's sells hamburgers, only Wendy's sells milkshakes, only Burger King sells french fries, and only Taco Bell sells Tacos. You can be sure that all of those products would cost a great deal more than they do. Why? No competitive pricing.

Think about it. When was the last time you walked into a med facility and prices were posted? Or you walked into a drug store and the prices of the most thirty commonly scripted drugs were posted? We don't pay any attention to price when we get med care. We don't call around to find out where we can get our surgery done at a reasonable price. We pay no attention to it.

[talaniman]

Lets try this. What's the purpose of drug commercials? Why would they advertise new drugs to the public? Why are the insurance companies NOT in a competitive price war? I've been to walk in clinics that do post the price of their services.

The question was

why health care is so expensive and why the capitalist market hasn't solved that and why the price goes up and up and up where only the rich can afford it and the poor go without! Please answer that before you blast my theories and opinions.

No we ain't talking burgers here, because there is a very active burger war going on.

[jlisenbe]

No we ain't talking burgers here, because there is a very active burger war going on.

That's the whole point!!! Burgers are competitive. Med care is not. I've never in my life been in a med facility or drug store with prices posted. When was the last time you asked how much an X-ray or other med procedure cost?

[talaniman]

Me and the wife have had many procedure, I know what they cost. You want to see my stack of bills? Co pays and deductibles are the killers as well as those monthly premiums, that rise every few years, and those damn out of pocket expenses. That's with GREAT insurance. I mean if you knew ahead of time what difference would that make since they bill the insurance company?

They all seem to be within a range though. That's why I asked what difference it would make. Group insurance runs cheaper. You do get billed though for the difference between what the insurance bills and what they charge on certain things because no insurance covers 100%. That's a huge and unfair problem we can discuss.

[jlisenbe]

. I mean if you knew ahead of time what difference would that make since they bill the insurance company?

That's another huge problem. We tend to care much less since the insurance is really the one on the hook for anything big.

no insurance covers 100%. That's a huge and unfair problem we can discuss.

The insurance, in reality, does not cover anything. They take your money and everyone else's money, put it in a big pot, and pay the bills. if you want them to pay for all of it, then get ready for higher premiums.

[talaniman]

That's another huge problem. We tend to care much less since the insurance is really the one on the hook for anything big.

You pay them to care. They aren't on the hook, they offered you a service that you NEEDED. Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. Yeah you may have to be aware of costs, but trust me on this one, you can't affect that cost. No doctor will take you in Texas without signing a financial responsibility clause and they do have ways to collect if you don't cut a deal to pay the difference the insurance doesn't cover, and you have a 90 day window to make that deal.

Even if you like your doctor, he WILL get paid or you will be looking for another doctor. Yes sad to say they are part of the problem.

The insurance, in reality, does not cover anything. They take your money and everyone else's money, put it in a big pot, and pay the bills. if you want them to pay for all of it, then get ready for higher premiums.

Premiums are already high enough and yes anything that raises those premiums they LOVE! Now some insurance is USELESS, be careful trying to save money, definitely read the fine print, but most are a good bet, though could be better. Like I said before group insurance is the best deal because individuals buying their own get down right raped. At least Obama Care helped poor people buy insurance and they NEED it just like anybody else and the repub repeal and don't replace is a disgusting display of pandering to the drug and medical lobby.

LOL, poor people love Obama Care especially when you call it something else. Take it away and what's left? You think it won't affect group insurance through your job? Guess again. You can read the full discourse in the ARCHIVES of this forum.

[jlisenbe]

but trust me on this one, you can't affect that cost.

That's an interesting thought. Let me give you an example of this whole "cost" issue.

I had to have a cyst removed from a knuckle on my finger. I figured it would be done in a doctor's office, but instead it was done in the guy's operating room. At least 3 people were involved including a nurse anesthetist who put me into la-la land. At any rate, when I got the bill, just the operating room was going to be 5 grand, but Blue Cross told them they could only collect 600, so they accepted that. It just strikes me that something is wrong when 5,000 becomes 600. It's like being told that a car is 25 thousand, but they will take 3 thousand for it. I don't get any of that.

[Athos]

LOL, poor people love Obama Care especially when you call it something else.

So true!

Reminds me of the guy who complained about the government keeping their cotton-pickin' hands off his medicare.