Dear God, I would be bankrupt if we had bills like that...!! I don't have private medical insurance..long reasons why... but we do have the option of bypassing the very long NHS queues and paying privately for many procedures. I recently had an Ultrasound scan...so for that I paid £200...and the consultants fee of £250... we don't pay for the radiologists , any PA's, receptionists, the sweeper upper or anything like that..
@Don Alaska You're right. I Googled DRG and it looks very complicated. I think another reason health care is so high is that most doctors now are part of a medical conglomerate. They are told how much they have to charge. It used to be that a doctor had a private practice and could set his own charges. Not now. Medicine has become a big business.
In many cases they were forced to do that , especially by the ACA (Obamacare). The audit requirements put in place under Obamacare made it very difficult for individual practitioners to exist. They are forced into groups so the government can track them...and your medical history. Regardless of what you think of Sarah Palin, she was correct when she spoke of "Death Committees". I think it was called "Utilization Review Committees" or something like that. The original end goal of Obamacare was simply to deny care to you if you were no longer productive members of society, i.e., able to pay taxes.
Obama said in one of his earlier campaign speeches that older people do not need any larger medical procedures because our lives would end soon and furthered that with his own diagnosis: all we need is a pill.
@Shirley Martin Similar problem, but fortunately we know where our mail is going, and the guy getting ours knows where we are, too! His address: xxxx Court, ours xxxx Circle. Both suffixes start with "C"; the delivery people here are not US Postal Workers, but rather contracted individuals, thus self-employed. Mistakes? Oh, so sorry! Frank
That is very similar to the way my grandparents lived prior to Medicare implementation in 1965. They paid all day to day medical expenses out of pocket and carried what was known as a major medical policy that covered catastrophic illnesses and accidents. IMO prices were much lower for care because there was only so much money available in the average person's pocket. When Medicare was implemented the hogs all lined up at the trough and medical costs went through the roof. I'm not sure how you provide humane treatment at a reasonable cost without some form of rationing/review boards to limit testing, operations, etc... I wish I was smart enough to figure this out.
Without Medicare, Medicaid, and mandatory insurances, medical costs would be much lower than they are. As payments from these programs are based on average costs, there is no incentive to bring them down.
Thirty years ago,I worked at a Risk Management place. We called people about past due medical bills - very stressful and intense job. Short version- we were suppose to tell out "clients" - the patients, that- no Medicare did not pay for such an such-like and ambulance ride to the hospital. I researched this online,and found that to be untrue. I even printed from the Medicare site in regards to such charges. ID not matter, that place would not accept it, blew me off. I refused to ask these people for money, and in many cases they did not owe. i also, informed them, they could send in a meager amount, like $5 a month and by law, could not be hounded by us or debt collectors. This was true for here back then at least. Of course our conversations were were listened to and this did not sit well with the employers. I was relentless to stand my ground, and even more so, when I discovered 50 doctors!!! in Oklahoma using the tax Id nbr. The bottom line is, I discovered many discrepancies and covered up things going on. This is when realized how much insurance companies actually ruled the world and the hospital were right behind them It is and has always been a racket. Several years alter, a friend of mine who worked at the same place, was fired. She knew Medicare inside and out as she had worked for them 15 years,The Risk company fired her because she to found more very questionable goings on and she threatened to blab. I was not fired ny Risk, I quit,could not take the lies and deceit anymore. And yes doctors are told by the insurance companies , and the company who owns the doctors- what to charge, how long with each patient,normally ten minutes ... the list goes on. And here at least you only allowed to see doctor for one thing,, appt. is required for each other complaint. Some doctors do break this for long time patients they have. My own doctor told me several years ago, how he hates the medical profession anymore. He said I use to mentor young people for the medical profession, now I tell them run like hell in another direction. And, if you can believe anything you read now days, by 2026 many jobs including doctors will be replaced by robots. and internet. Doctors will be used for ER . Everything else, home medical kits bought at pharmacy will detect you cold, strep and etc. You can visit a virtual doctor on line. Just guess,what hospital charged for that 2.5 days in the hospital back in Dec, ?
If May did go to a NHS faciltity no body ever the far left would mention it. If May was taken ill at the HoC she would be taken to a NHS hospital, maybe if May was in her constituenry she would be register with her local NHS Doctor and she would go and see him then if she needed hospital treatment she could be sent to a private hospital covered by her health insurance The wealthy Have a system they pay for which for lesser illnesses is quicker but for very serious illnesses they can end up at a NHS hospital. Case in point my drunken daughter at a wedding was dancing and fell over(she has Private Med insurance) in very bad pain next day I took her to AaE at a NHS hospital. Diagnosed with a broken wrist treated strighted away and No Charge could have used her private insurance and got the same treatment but be in pain for another day This year flew into Vegas waiting in line to get threw immigration we were being directed by an 81 year old man to the points of entry he you could hardly walk, I asked him why he was doing this his reply was I need to work 2 days a week to pay for my medical prescription. I under the NHS being over 65 I do not have to pay any for my Blood pressures Tablets or any other perscriptions, I do not have to pay for any visit to my Doctor..I have never thought I needed private Health Insurance.
I have problems with all the health care systems that I am familiar with. My point with the PM was similar to the President. If he gets sick, he is treated at a military hospital, but he doesn't get treated like any member of the military, even the severely wounded. He is treated better than even the generals and admirals. An expert I once heard speak said the only successful health care system is the German, but I know nothing whatsoever as to how it functions.
Right got your point on a military hospital Are so called Military hospitals are at the main military base in Aldershot and treat minor ailments What happens is that any army personnel who are injured overseas they are flown to a NHS hospital that specialises in their condition. Such as the case I learned on visiting to my wife who was in Chelmsford hospital at the time which specialized in burns. Places for people who were booked in for burns unit surgery at the hospital were cancelled because The Brit army had flown in are about 5 of are soldiers from Iraq who had suffered burns, and we also that with another hospital who treat the loss of arms or legs. All done threw the NHS and free of charge for all at point of need.
Interesting points...America comes out 11th of 11 which is unfair. https://www.theguardian.com/society...worlds-best-healthcare-system-this-is-the-nhs
The Commonwealth Survey didn't agree with the expert I heard lecture since he said Germany was the best overall success story--results per unit of cost--but he was from Sweden, and apparently was instrumental in developing their system. The U.S. has the most expensive system by far, and not necessarily the best outcome, but I think for a large number of difficult cases, we do well. It would not be technically difficult to develop a really good system, but the political will has to be there. I think a fee-for-service system is best for all but the most serious cases, with the costs posted up front in a competitive environment. Many of the judgments made in the surveys focus on primary care, but secondary and tertiary care is where the important differences are, in my opinion.