$640.00 to fill the tanks...

In article . com,
"Robert M. Gary" wrote:

Show me who qualifies for medicaid and can afford to fly at the same
time.

If you can afford to fly, you are paying for your health care whether
you live in the U.S. or in Europe. In Europe you give the gov't money
to pay for your healthcare, in the U.S. you give the insurance company
money to pay for your healthcare.
In both cases, if you don't have money, the gov't picks up the tab.
-Robert

I wonder if the final sentence above is true. If you've had any close
encounters with hospital bills lately, you have to be dismayed at what
seem to be the "way up there" costs or charges for every little aspect
of that part of the healthcare system. I have to suspect that somehow,
the charges on those who can pay are driven up by the hospital's legal
requirement to provide walk-in care without reimbursement for those who
can't, or won't -- and it shows up in _our_ payments, whether for direct
care or for insurance.

"AES" wrote

I wonder if the final sentence above is true. If you've had any close
encounters with hospital bills lately, you have to be dismayed at what
seem to be the "way up there" costs or charges for every little aspect
of that part of the healthcare system. I have to suspect that somehow,
the charges on those who can pay are driven up by the hospital's legal
requirement to provide walk-in care without reimbursement for those who
can't, or won't -- and it shows up in _our_ payments, whether for direct
care or for insurance.

Around half your bill is someone else's bill.
--
Jim in NC

In article ,
AES wrote:

I wonder if the final sentence above is true. If you've had any close
encounters with hospital bills lately, you have to be dismayed at what
seem to be the "way up there" costs or charges for every little aspect
of that part of the healthcare system.

I don't know. Is $45,000 too much for ER, surgery (4 hours), and 14 days
in the hospital?

--
Bob Noel
Looking for a sig the
lawyers will hate

In article ,
AES wrote:

In article . com,
"Robert M. Gary" wrote:

Show me who qualifies for medicaid and can afford to fly at the same
time.

If you can afford to fly, you are paying for your health care whether
you live in the U.S. or in Europe. In Europe you give the gov't money
to pay for your healthcare, in the U.S. you give the insurance company
money to pay for your healthcare.
In both cases, if you don't have money, the gov't picks up the tab.
-Robert

I wonder if the final sentence above is true. If you've had any close
encounters with hospital bills lately, you have to be dismayed at what
seem to be the "way up there" costs or charges for every little aspect
of that part of the healthcare system. I have to suspect that somehow,
the charges on those who can pay are driven up by the hospital's legal
requirement to provide walk-in care without reimbursement for those who
can't, or won't -- and it shows up in _our_ payments, whether for direct
care or for insurance.

My wife had to be taken to the ER by the squad two weeks ago. They kept
her overnight and released her the next afternoon. We had to go back for
a test Wednesday morning.
The hospital bill was $8000.
Today we received the statement from the insurance company informing us
what they had paid and what the hospital had accepted and how much we
owe.
Insurance paid $3700, we owe $1200 (20% of the total bill).

AES wrote:
In article . com,
"Robert M. Gary" wrote:
If you've had any close
encounters with hospital bills lately, you have to be dismayed at what
seem to be the "way up there" costs or charges for every little aspect
of that part of the healthcare system. I have to suspect that somehow,
the charges on those who can pay are driven up by the hospital's legal
requirement to provide walk-in care without reimbursement for those who
can't, or won't -- and it shows up in _our_ payments, whether for direct
care or for insurance.

My point is that if a homeless person in the U.S. walks into a hospitol
and needs expensive emergency care he will not be turned away. The
hospital will provide the care and the gov't (us)will fit the bill.
This even applies to those in the U.S. illegally.

-Robert

Robert M. Gary wrote:
Show me who qualifies for medicaid and can afford to fly at the same
time.

If you can afford to fly, you are paying for your health care whether
you live in the U.S. or in Europe. In Europe you give the gov't money
to pay for your healthcare, in the U.S. you give the insurance company
money to pay for your healthcare.
In both cases, if you don't have money, the gov't picks up the tab.
-Robert


An American pays more tax dollars to NOT get universal healthcare
compared to what a Canadian pays.

Andrew Sarangan wrote:
An American pays more tax dollars to NOT get universal healthcare
compared to what a Canadian pays.

And Canadians are still buying private health insurance while many of
their best doctors come to the U.S. for proper compensation.

-Robert

Bret Ludwig wrote:

Pretty sad. But consider also the thousands of Americans that don't own
an airplane ostensibly because they are "saving for their children's
college education". I don't know about the UK specifically but in most
of Europe, if your kids really are smart enough for college, they can
go, and if they aren't they won't be anyway. So let's look at the whole
picture.

We have the same system in California (CSU system). We actually have
another system as well for the not-so-smart kids (the Community College
System).

-Robert

I beg to differ. I am a product of CSU-San Diego and teach at Sierra
Community College in Rocklin and Grass Valley. The smart ones go to the CCS
to get their lower division classes at $24 a semester unit and, upon
graduation with a B average, a guaranteed slot in either the CSU or UC
system for their upper division and graduate work.

Jim





"Robert M. Gary" wrote in message
oups.com...



We have the same system in California (CSU system). We actually have
another system as well for the not-so-smart kids (the Community College
System).

-Robert

RST Engineering wrote:
I beg to differ. I am a product of CSU-San Diego and teach at Sierra
Community College in Rocklin and Grass Valley. The smart ones go to the CCS
to get their lower division classes at $24 a semester unit and, upon
graduation with a B average, a guaranteed slot in either the CSU or UC
system for their upper division and graduate work.

True. But that aside, the fact is if you are not able to get accepted
to a university, the community college system will take you.

-Robert