Tracking the next pandemic: Avian Flu Talk |
In America,who pays Hospital bills in a pandemic |
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carbon20
Moderator Joined: April 08 2006 Location: West Australia Status: Offline Points: 65816 |
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Posted: February 03 2020 at 2:23pm |
With no FREE health systems to protect the citizens of America
Who pays the Bills if there is a Very Bad Pandemic And if you don't have insurance would you even bother going to the ER if you sick If not surely this would mean any plans the Government makes would be..... USELESS So Glad we have a FREE HEALTH SYSTEM HERE IN AUSTRALIA..... |
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BabyCat
V.I.P. Member Joined: January 26 2020 Status: Offline Points: 15175 |
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In the US, no hospital can legally turn away a patient presenting a critical care need for an inability to pay or no insurance. Thus, who pays? The taxpayer.
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carbon20
Moderator Joined: April 08 2006 Location: West Australia Status: Offline Points: 65816 |
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Thanks Babycat,
We have a a Medicare system that everyone "PUTS IN" As part of your yearly taxbill.... Works Very well..... Or you can pay private health, and you get Tax benefits if you do go Private...... Thing is when, the insurance runs out, say if you have Cancer you end up on the public system anyway..... |
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Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.π
Marcus Aurelius |
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Technophobe
Assistant Admin Joined: January 16 2014 Location: Scotland Status: Offline Points: 88450 |
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The American system is adequate in emergency cases. But healthcare ineeds to be far wider than that.
Only if you have it free "taxpayer paid" at the point of need can you intercept things in the early stages and stop them there. Being in the UK, I can guarantee that works out far cheaper than you might think. Once something has developed to the emergency stage, it is often too late to do anything about it. I know that applies to things like cancer, but I don't have enough specific knowledge about the American system to judge if the system can cope with a pandemic like this. Jacksdad? Albert? Johnray? Anyone? |
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Lakeman3
V.I.P. Member Joined: February 03 2020 Location: Illinois Status: Offline Points: 115 |
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In a pandemic all of the various systems will be overwhelmed. My preference would be the system that has the most ventilators per capita. Which country is that?
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BabyCat
V.I.P. Member Joined: January 26 2020 Status: Offline Points: 15175 |
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Well, there's the thought, and this is a bit insane, is if you're going to be infected, better early, as you can get a ventilator. Or, better not at all. Ride out the storm on a ranch in Montana until a vaccine comes.
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KiminNM
V.I.P. Member Joined: January 22 2020 Location: NM Status: Offline Points: 6605 |
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I thought about that earlier!! I tried to find the number of ICU beds in my town but couldn't. Less than 10 I'm sure. Population is about 84,000 people. We have less than 250 hospital beds. We'd be totally screwed. |
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John Ray
Valued Member Joined: February 02 2020 Location: West Virginia, Status: Offline Points: 75 |
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Technophobe, our health care system is not perfect but it works. People raise hell about the high bills, but in reality, they do not pay these bills. The hospitals do not get paid, the doctors do not get paid by many, many patients. But you do get paid by enough insurance companies and various government programs to still keep going. People bitch and complain about their bills but they never pay their bills. Some do. But everyone gets treated. In a pandemic, our system will be just like the system in Australia and England, and that is that the system will be over loaded and the first ones to the hospital will get beds and treatment, the rest will either die in waiting room or die at home. There will be no difference.. A lot of the public university hospitals get millions is the form of government grants. Most of the private doctors like I was, go out of business and go to work for a hospital or clinic system . There are practically no private solo medical practices in this county now. Everyone went broke. The last 7 years that I worked, I worked for a large clinic system at an hourly rate. So when you hear people in the US complaining about their high medical bills, ask them how much of that bill that they paid. The vast majority of them did not pay one penny. The highway robbery in this country at this time is done by the Pharmicies and the Pharmaceutical companies. Once you get out of the hospital, you have to go to a Pharmacy to get prescription medication. You either pay them or you die. A few months ago I went to a doctor for an ear infection. My insurance paid the doctor bill but when I went to the Pharmacy to get my medication. They charged me 175 dollars for the medication. Because I am a retired doctor, I know that the whole sale cost of this medication was no more than 10 or 12 dollars at the most. That is one hell of a profit margin.
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FluMom
Adviser Group Valued Member Since 2006 Joined: February 03 2020 Location: Colorado Status: Offline Points: 14695 |
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You are correct on this John Ray.
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Penham
Chief Moderator Moderator Joined: February 09 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 14913 |
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The pharmaceutical companies are horrible. Remember just a few years ago when the Epi pens were costing about $500?
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carbon20
Moderator Joined: April 08 2006 Location: West Australia Status: Offline Points: 65816 |
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Have we 2 flumoms now?
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Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.π
Marcus Aurelius |
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KiwiMum
Chief Moderator Joined: May 29 2013 Status: Offline Points: 29680 |
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No. just the one. Flumom had problems logging in and had to reregister. So now she's a newbie.
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Those who got it wrong, for whatever reason, may feel defensive and retrench into a position that doesnβt accord with the facts.
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carbon20
Moderator Joined: April 08 2006 Location: West Australia Status: Offline Points: 65816 |
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Apprentice...
Flumom....lol Welcomeback..... |
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Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.π
Marcus Aurelius |
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Technophobe
Assistant Admin Joined: January 16 2014 Location: Scotland Status: Offline Points: 88450 |
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JohnRay, I know it works, but it could be so much cheaper.
We have a much maligned, even hated, medical body called NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence) and they decide what our NHS pays for. As a consequence the drugs companies can't charge us those prices, so they had to drop most costs. All our perscriptions are about £5.00 ALL OF THEM! No one ever pays more, many pay less and the poorest, oldest, youngest and sickest pay nothing. It is not a perfect system either. The exceptionally expensive cancer drugs that do not cure people but buy a few more months of life are refused by NICE. By the same yardstick, loads of people are diagnosed earlier as all GP visits, hospital referrals and diagnostic tests, even the vaccines like the HPV vaccine are provided free. At the sharp end, when the patient is dying and comfort and time are the requirements, your system probably works better. But at the shallow end, when there is a chance to avoid the sharp end, ours does. That is why we have a longer life expectancy. When I was a worker, I was quite a high earner. Yet I paid about £2K a year towards the NHS and, now retired, I pay nothing. My perscriptions are free, as is everything else. Most Americans find that hard to believe, but it is true. |
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How do you tell if a politician is lying?
His lips or pen are moving. |
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