Originally posted by Pinepig
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Lot's of people confuse what exactly "access to healthcare" means with "availability" of such. Free healthcare to everyone will mean that you get free mediocre treatment after you wait for a while to be seen. They guys that are good will still be in the private sector as this is supposedly still a free country and supposedly it is still capitalism here.
Regarding the video, someone here said that doctor doing the intial exam did what they were supposed to, i.e. diagnosed the condition. What happened afterwards may have been the fall down in the system or maybe the guy himself didn't want to do anything after being told to have a follow up with specialist. In that show we are getting just one side of the story and the news channel's job is to make it as sad and teary eyed as possible to create an effect. Seems to be working judging by the responses here.
Everybody seems to blame the government for this or for that. Well, get the fuck off the welfare, get out and make a difference for yourself.
Where do you all think the money for free doctors come from? You got that right, your taxes. Well, read this for starters:
Do y'all think that if we get that free healthcare they will pay for boob jobs and shit like that? Fuck no. How about your check up if you are sick? Maybe, if you can make that appointment because there's "well sir the next available appointment available is in 12 month..." How's that?
You know, I see a lot of people in my office that are on Medicaid. Some of them really need it for a variety of reasons. But about 50% or so are on it because they are using the system to their advantage. I get chicks coming in that have 2-3 carat rings on their fingers and genuine coach bags. Yep, you bet they are on medicaid, so I'm technically paying for her to get her shit done.
How about insurance companies? You guys know that 40 years ago in todays dollars, adjusted for infation, a filling was $20? When was the last time any of you seen that? Why do you think it is $200 now? Well, how about the fact that insurance companies need to make some money too?
The bottom line is that everybody has to eat and make a buck. Nothing is free. Even in the military nothing is done for free, someone paying for it.
What people don't understand a lot of times is that THE MORE COMPLICATED THE SYSTEM IS THE MORE RESOURSES YOU NEED TO CONTROL AND ENFORCE IT AND THE LESS THE OUTCOME IS. Sorry for the caps, just wanted to emphasize the importance.
For example let's take that "filling situation". You go to the dentist, he examines you and he says you have a cavity. He proceeds to take care of your cavity by placing a filling. Let's say the total fee for everything is $50 (exam, x-rays, filling). You pay him when you are done and leave. Done.
Now, same situation, but with insurance company involved. You think you need to go see a dentist because you have not had a check up in a while. You procrastinate, because you think that it will cost a lot because you don't have insurance because you declined coverage at your work since they wanted $25 bucks/week from your paycheck to provide you with coverage. $100/month. Fuck that! Then the tooth starts hurting so you call your HR and tell them you want coverage. They tell you that the enrollment window had just closed 2 days ago so you will have to call back 6 month later. You wait six months, toothache is getting more and more severe. Then, finally, you get your coverage! You can now go get that treated. But wait, your employer was to cheap to get a good coverage so they only bought the cheapest plan that has limited number of doctors that you can go to and, oh shit, there's 12 month waiting period for any major work. Crap! You call several offices that are on your list and are told that they can see you in 6 weeks. You tell them that you are in pain and maybe they can fit you an as an emergency. Otherwise you are told to go to ER (where, after waiting for 6 hours, you will get a prescription of antibiotic and maybe for some pain pills. Oh yeah, and bills are in the mail for the next six month or so. whatever). So the day comes, you go to that dentist, they do an examination, take some x-rays and you are told that your tooth needs a root canal treatment, then post, build up, and a crown. The total fee is for the initial visit is $200 of which $100 is immediately discounted due to this office's participation with the insurance plan, and then 8 weeks later your dentist will get paid by the insurance company after the claim is submitted several times because it was "not received" the first time, then they didn't have your info on file or some other lame excuse. Now your proposed treatment fee is $2000 (of which your dentist may get 50%) which your insurance will not cover for another 12 month because there's a waiting period since you just became their "insured". So you either wait and then end up having the tooth extracted and then have to get it replaced or end up paying for it yourself and then blame the dentist for everything that happened to you. By the way, you dentist made $20 on your initial visit if he got paid.
The way things are right now insurance companies are employing a lot of people, everyone is busy paying taxes and everyone is "happy". Until a video like that comes along and then we are all busy shouting and screaming that the government needs to do something.
Thought?
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