So I'm about to lose my right foot.

That's something else I don't understand about the US - this democrat/republican thing. From an outsider's perspective, the two parties really aren't so different - certainly not enough to warrant all the partisan vitriol. From a global perspective, they're both right-wing parties that cater to corporations. Money trumps truth and justice all the time. The cost of US healthcare is a serious issue that's a huge impact on your economy. It causes untold number of personal bankruptcies, and even helped bring down General Motors. Don't lose sight of the problem by turning it into yet another R and D spat.

 

Yes, and I think sometimes the political stuff is an intentional diversion from noticing who some of the real bad actors are--the corporations. Who are, of course, in bed with both parties.

 

Politics is always a diversion. If people accepted the truth and dealt with it, there'd be no need for any of that crap. "In bed" is far, far too polite a term for what's going on.

 

Sorry, but that over-simplifies the debate. There are basically 3 principal actors in the current debate over health care reform:

1. Insurance companies,
2. Providers (doctors, hospitals, the whole universe of health care providers; I am including pharma companies as well, since they are part of the 'care' cost equation),
3. Politicians.

Patients really don't count even though they will reap the benefits or suffer the consequences of decisions made by all 3 of the above.

The current debate in the U.S. has come down to the cost of health care reform and how to pay for it. The magic number is starting to gel at around $800 Billion over 10 years. Most Rs are basically saying no to anything that changes the status quo. There are maybe 6 Rs in the Senate that will make or break the Senate process on whether or not a bill gets put to a vote (there is the thing about Cloture to cut off debate and put a bill to a vote that requires 60 votes; there are not 60 D votes for Cloture, so some Rs have to come along for the ride). To get the RINO (R In Name Only) votes, something has to be done to meet the objections of the Rs who are most likely to go along with the resulting bill. Finding the optimum mix of compromise to get to the magic number of 60 votes in the U.S. Senate is where the action is presently occurring.

Whether you like it or not, those are the rules of the game in the U.S. Congress.

 

and despite all this, Obama is being castrated for his stand on national health care. ok, its one thing to not have insurance, but what about people who do?

i have insurance and let me tell you what i have paid out in the last two weeks. on Thursday, i chipped a tooth...didnt hurt, but was real sensitive to cold. went to dentist, determined it had to be capped...my cost $800. also, determined, needed gum work, apparently have some sort of gum deterioration caused by deep pockets that can be fixed by basically lowering the gum line. my cost for that $750 PER QUADRANT... mouth divided into halves, upper and lower making 4 areas, (thankfully only need one quadrant done)

so, will "only" cost me $1550 to get this done. now, had temp cap put on (this was not fun, they basically grind all around my tooth to make it smaller so cap fits) they give me script for pain pills....10 of them... go to fill at pharm, new person (i guess) tells me its $80... i say "with insurance?" ...they say " oh, wait..."....they come back...."that will be $7"


so, if i hadn't had insurance, it would have cost me more than 3 times as much...the "gum" thing, my cost was $750... the insurance company only allows $1500 for the procedure, but my Dentist normally charges $2400 (saw that by leaning a lot!!) so if "saved" $1650 by having insurance.... not sure how much i saved on the cap... they have much taller front on desk...

but its true... health insurance is designed to kick you when you are down. they pay less to the doctors when you have coverage, and force you to pay more out of pocket. doctors are charging more because of THEIR malpractice, etc, of which they probably pay the PARENT company of your insurer, so they get it from both ends....

what obama should have done is nationalized AIG and completely revamped the insurance industry...

 

That's gotta be like day two of dentistry 101...how to recognise the patients with deep pockets.

 

To update y'all on my BC/BS misadventure: 2-3 weeks ago they called and stated they apparently over paid me reimbursements over the past 3 years, and have demanded their $28,000 overpayment back. I've been trying to line up every payment and match it with the bills over that timeframe. I'm not moving fast enough for them, so they have pulled the plug and dropped me. Now I have to find a lawyer (I'm uninsurable with a pre-existing condition). Either I sue for reinstatement or pay out of pocket my approx $100,000/year medical bills. I will be bankrupt in less than a year. If it were only absurd I could maybe handle it. It's criminal and all I can do is take it in the a** from a corporation with no culpability. If Obama can get a bill signed and enacted before I lose the house I will gladly worship his feet. Every day I'm closer to homeless, and now I can't sleep due to panic attacks. All those years of hard work, saving and sacrificing simply for the pleasure of an insurance company's amusement of pushing another pre-existing condition onto the streets and out of his home.

 

Day 2? How about one of the selection criteria that must be met before being admitted to dental school?

 

Funny how all these stories pop-up when Health Care becomes an issue. :yo:

Wildkow

 

Sounds like time to get an attorney in the picture.... The one thing that getting an attorney in the picture will do for you is cut out the bulls**t that you are getting from the low level drones that you have dealt with up until now. Once there is an attorney in the picture, the insurance company gets their attorney involved, and everything proceeds according to a timetable that will look favorable in front of a judge....

I had the same thing happen with AIG on a business insurance litigation - their drones tried to f**k with the company, and at a certain point, you just put the matter into litigation.

It is a sad commentary on the present state of affairs, but it is what it is.

 

You mean like Congress? The answer is so simple, find our voices and demand that Congress has to have the same healthcare plan we do.

Wildkow

p.s. If you think health care is expensive now wait until it's free. :yo:

 

Another manifestation of your Tourettes syndrome?

 

apriusfan are you serious or joking? I'm going to assume you are serious as there are no indications that suggest you aren't. If that is the case then . . .

Is this just another manifestation of your HAWADPOVS? (Hate Anyone With A Different Point Of View Syndrome)

Dial down the contrived outrage and hate filled rhetoric bud. I have my own stories on this board also. :yo:

Wildkow

 

I suspect underneath the republican skin possibly beats the heart of a thinking man. BTW, if healthcare is too expensive with a public pay option at least will know the true costs. Wouldn't you like to know true healthcare costs versus fabricated costs by private hospital corporations to make up for the emergency care of un and underinsured americans that flood our hospital emergency rooms with private health insurance industry providing designer billing....designer is a bad thing Wildkow. (the $50.00 tylenol tablet you can now be charged despite your political affiliations)?

 

TJ, I've been researching the treatments that you've mentioned, and have a few ideas that might save you some money.

The first is to meter your visits to high priced specialists. I think you got high value from the first visit, and practically nil from the second. One possibility is to use a specialist to initiate a therapy, and then continue it under the guidance of a general practitioner. From the charges you mentioned, you could probably see the GP at least 4 times for the same price. The GP is certainly able to look at a wound and tell you if it is getting better or worse. You can probably do that much yourself.

The specialist prescribed a very expensive bandage. You had to get the first few from him, but you can order additional ones for half the price over the Internet.

The bandage probably has a patent number on it. I suggest reading the full patent (just Google it) and see what is so special about it. From the little research I did, it sounds like rinsing the wound with sterile saline and covering it with a non-stick bandage would be similarly effective. Check out the patent to see what is so special about that bandage.

Hospital charges are negotiable. The billing is like the first price mentioned in barter. The vendor will happily accept that value, but may also accept half that amount. The $100 charge from the doctor is fairly firm, but that $300 surcharge can be attacked.

I am reminded of one time when I was purchasing roofing shingles. I bought just a couple of packages at a time, and returned for more when I had used up the current supply. One time the salesman asked me what price they had quoted to me. Like, he's got all these books with prices in them, and he doesn't know which price to charge me? Obviously there are a lot of people who don't pay what it says in the book.

The enzymatic debridement agent is an interesting therapy. I've used proteolytic enzymes to dissolve scar tissue and speed wound healing. My dentist gave me some Vitalzym capsules after a root canal procedure, and they worked so much better than the prescription Tylenol/codeine mixture that another dentist used with a similar procedure. Instead of the collagenase or papain-urea enzyme preparations that you were probably prescribed, another choice would be maggots. I kid you not. Check out www.monarchlabs.com for the description of medical maggots. A GP could prescribe them for you, and you could apply them yourself. Very little skill is involved, since, as they say at the MonarchLabs website, "don't worry, the maggots know exactly what to do, even if your doctor doesn't!"

Another thing that I noticed is that the North Texas Wound Care Center has a hyperbaric chamber that they use to aid wound healing. They may charge $250 a session, which can add up quickly. Topical ozone would probably be useful, but few doctors have it available. Why use a $35 treatment when a $250 one will do? ($35 is what my dentist charges to treat a "pre-cavity" with ozone. It has saved having to do a filling 2 out of 3 times on me).

I hope something of what I've said is useful. The main message is that you can do a lot of research about the specific therapies that your doctor prescribes. Instead of asking "what happens if I don't use the xx bandage?", you could ask "how about yy or zz therapies?". The goal is to get the doctor off of autopilot and into a biochemical discussion. If you get him going, he may well spend another 20 minutes with you and come up with something better than the autopilot answer.

 

An interesting perspective Rob, although I personally wouldn't fiddle or otherwise tinker with success, given the downside of failure....