I am flabbergasted! About This Page:

[jlhill4444]

Originally Posted by cdnmickeyfan

I'm from Canada where we have health coverage both through our province and through our work insurance. I can't get having to pay that much for healthcare!! What if you don't have insurance or the money to pay?? What happens to you?? And why, when Obama suggests universal healthcare, do Americans vote it down?? I don't understand!!

I dont understand either. But the major reason is the healthcare and insurance industry have such a large and fully funded lobby group that would never allow this to happen. We American's tend to think more about ourselves and what we would get out of it than how it would help others. We tend to see things in a way that asks why we should have to pay higher taxes so a single mother with no job can have access to healthcare. In short it is greed and a lack of compassion for our fellow human beings. (Just my 2 cents!)

[cdnmickeyfan]

I was really just asking the question because I don't know. I hope I didn't ask the question in a way that anyone is offended. I'm just quite ignorant I guess on US politics and how things work like taxes, etc. I know that we are quite heavily taxed here in Ontario and probably all of Canada but I will take being taxed if I go in for surgery and walk out of the hospital paying nothing. I just hoped to take this opportunity to get a bit more educated on the topic.

Thanks Julia for giving me more information than I had before.

[mcneal]

I had a similar experience last year when I had an outpatient procedure. THe facility was so busy that day that they ran out of room for patients in the pre and post surgery areas and put me in a hallway before my procedure. If all the other patients in just that one day paid as much as I did, the place made way over a million dollars in that day. I know that equipment is expensive but how many times do they need to pay for it. Plus, after looking at itemized medical billing before, they charge outrageous sums for mundane items like tissues, diapers, etc. I know that most doctors are not getting rich but the owners of the facilities are robbing people.

I also agree with the others about universal health care. I personally know some people that do not have to worry about the cost of medical services so they do not understand the challenges so many of our fellow citizens face and don't really care. In my lifetime, I have watched our insurance coverage get worse and worse; and yet costs me more and more in my paycheck.

[Shawnam1868]

Originally Posted by DisneyDana

am I reading this right? You were charged $31,000 as in Thirty One Thousand dollars for rabies shots?

Yes, you were reading this right. $31,000 big ones.

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[Huntermom]

McNeal, if you are concerned about owners making profits, use non-profit facilities. I am a firm believer that some industries should not be run for profit-education, health care, day care and other children's services such as camps, etc. I know as Americans we are supposed to believe that competition and profit are great motivators, but I have seen people run for profit industries and making a profit (unlike the non-profits) by cutting corners. You can not charge the same and expect to make money when so many non-profits struggle. I was on the board of a non-profit day care. They provided excellent care in part by paying a living wage to the workers, who in turn hung around. The for profits I was familiar with were barely paying over the minimum wage and had a tremendous turnover.

I am a supporter of universal health care. I don't think we can afford to continue the way we are going. I have met some people who could well afford insurance ( a barn owner whose child had 3-5 horses/ponies at a time) but chose not to, knowing if they really needed care, they would not be turned away.

[kellensmom]

Actually I read an interesting study about how much money non-profit hospitals make. They used the example of a non profit cancer center in Texas that has added dozens of buildings, high tech amenities, ridiculous CEO pay. Non-profit does not mean they charge less, it means they have to spend out what they take in, but they can and do charge just as much as for profit facilities.

[thenewsmiths]

Both of my kids were preemies (30 weeks and 32 weeks). Each of their hospital stays (5 and 6 weeks) were about $50,000. A 3 hr procedure costing that much seems outlandish by comparison.

[HiddenMickey]

This got me thinking. How many people inquire about the expected costs of procedures before they go in for them?

I'm going to try to remember to ask if anything comes up in the future. It's not something that I've really thought about, since we have had so few problems (knock on wood) in our family. (For some reason I do ask when it's dental procedures though)

[Cam22]

Ridiculous!

[kellensmom]

I just went back and looked through my medicals bills for my pregnancy and delivery of my 2 year old. I had 9 months or prenatal care, an epidural, my hospital delivery, and a one night stay and my coinsurwnce total was around $1500. I am not seeing how this surgery is $1750 in coinsurance when it cost me less for 9 months of pregnancy care and delivery. I got another bill today from an emergency room visit we had to make for his severe croup. I paid a $150 copy, spent 3 hours there, and now owe another $150 ish in coinsurance. I thought my copay covered that visit but I guess not. And this is a "premium" insurance plan we have through hubs work!

[Belle320]

Boy how times have changed. We found the hospital bill for when my DH was born in the late 1960s. His mother was in the hospital for 7 days and the total bill was $700.