Medical Is All About Money

Discussion in 'Health & Wellness' started by Martin Alonzo, Apr 29, 2018.

  1. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    I am not a veteran but I didn't know that VA Medical was income-based.
     
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  2. Cody Fousnaugh

    Cody Fousnaugh Supreme Member
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    Yes it is, if a Vet doesn’t doesn’t fill out a “Means” statement. I knew that our total income was higher than allowed and I was a “non-service connected” Veteran. So, we have to pay a co-pay for medicine and treatment.

    My brother has to do the same. He fully retired from the state of PA and has a nice income.
     
    #17
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  3. Martin Alonzo

    Martin Alonzo Supreme Member
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    When I left Canada I no longer have the medical system but still forced to pay into it. In a way it was the best thing that happened to me. I had to take responsibility of my health and not to rely on doctors. This month I will be 76 and healthier now than when I was in the medical mousetrap.
     
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  4. Bill Boggs

    Bill Boggs Supreme Member
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    If your income is at such a level you have a copay or share drugs costs.. I pay from eight to fifteen dollars or more for each prescription as doees my wife who is also veteran. Some service connected disabilitiy Vets may not have a copay. Up until about five years ago we had to file an income statement with the VA and provide a copy of our IRS 1040 form. Our drug bill with the kVA usually runs $120.00 to $150.00 a month on average. That's the only costs we have with the VA.
     
    #19
  5. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    Not a Vietnam-era veteran? If you were not in Vietnam, you are subject to income limits. Obamacare was the perfect system for you--let someone else pay for your healthcare.
     
    #20
  6. Terry A Moore

    Terry A Moore Very Well-Known Member
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    I was Vietnam era but never in country, so I now fell into Priority Group g. If my income was less than 10% above the limit then I'd still have VA eligibility but I'd have copays like e guys above mentioned. I've been paying medicine copays throughout my time in their care.

    I don't understand (Don) why you thought Obamacare was perfect for me. My comments were about dreading going back to the "for profit" healthcare system. I also don't understand what you meant about let someone else pay. Was that an offer? Lol
     
    #21
  7. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    I didn't find any of the ObamaCare plans to be affordable, and paid the fine until I was able to add Medicare to the mix.
     
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  8. Cody Fousnaugh

    Cody Fousnaugh Supreme Member
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    When we move, there is a very good chance I will have to stop my Medicare, supplement and drug plan, because we just won't be able to afford it all...……..for me, but my wife will keep hers. Where we are looking to move, there is VA Medical available. For years, after companies started making employees pay for medical, I only used my VA Medical and done fine.

    Bottom LIne is...…..when you need the money, something has to change.
     
    #23
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  9. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    Terry, you said you wanted a "single payer system". That is what Obamacare was supposed to lead to. The initial objective was to have the young and healthy pay the costs for the old and sick. Young folks didn't cooperate, however, and preferred to pay the fines and take chances rather than pay high premiums for care they didn't need. The eventual goal was to bankrupt private insurance so the government could come in and "save the day". I listened to a lecture by an expert in government healthcare, and he said there is only one successful government-sponsored healthcare system on the planet and that is in Germany. He was from Sweden (who he said invented the concept of government healthcare), and pointed out that Americans are always directed to Britain (a two-tier system) and Canada (a single tier system) as examples. This guy said those are examples of what he considers failures, since they are both major burdens on the nation's taxpayers, and Canada particularly, offers the same mediocre healthcare to everyone; there is no really good care or really bad care, just mediocre care and many people die of serious conditions while waiting in line for treatment. The wealthy in Canada come to the U.S. for serious illnesses, but the less fortunate cannot afford to do so.
     
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  10. Frank Sanoica

    Frank Sanoica Supreme Member
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    @Ken Anderson
    It sounds like you and my wife share the same age: 66. She went on the Obama-crud system, the annual cost of which was around $8,000, which mostly was paid by taxpayers. First year they dunned us for $600, next two no cost to us. Turning 65 in December, 2016, we looked forward to getting on Medicare, despite the deduction to her meager S/S benefit. So far, it's been fair enough. A sudden appendicitis attack, quick surgery, easy convalescence, cost us very little, as we feel it ought to be. Her hospital bill totalled around $17,000, the surgeon's tab was $1,800, the total paid-out by insuror came to about $ 4,800 total, the difference evidently being "eaten" by previous agreement between medical providers and insuror. Far from flawless system.
    Frank
     
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  11. Frank Sanoica

    Frank Sanoica Supreme Member
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    @Cody Fousnaugh
    Question: If one is entitled to VA benefits, can he elect to NOT have Medicare deductions made to income? Or, do they continue to take them out, and he can elect to use VA only? Or, does VA get the Medicare monies deducted? Things I've wondered about, as my nephew is a Vet, and gets everything via VA.
    Frank
     
    #26
  12. Frank Sanoica

    Frank Sanoica Supreme Member
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    @Don Alaska
    Perfectly stated! Seems to confirm my suspicion about Canadians' commonly-declared satisfaction with their healthcare system function, when arguing it's superiority over ours, as being "brand-loyalty" in reality. And, I have no doubt whatsoever that many Canadians seek and get healthcare at their own expense here in the States, judging by the thousands of them who spend six months out of the year living down here where we reside in the warm Desert. They arrive in multitudes every late Fall, in half-million dollar motorhomes. Am I ranting? Frank
     
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  13. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    On Medicare, it is the provider that "eats" the cost, be it hospital, clinic, or medical office. The overhead is then passed on to other patients. I think I have written this before, but Medicare, on average, picks up about 20% of the amount billed. That is not enough to even cover the expenses generally for services provided, so providers up their bills to try to at least make up their costs. Federal law says that no one can be billed less than Medicare, so that leads to over-billing by the providers since they can't bill other patients less than they bill Medicare. Insurance companies are aware of all this and adjust their payments accordingly and most providers accept this. Woe to the private payer who has no agreement with a provider's office, however. They will get hit with the full bill. Medicare is the biggest reason that American healthcare costs are so high.
     
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  14. Frank Sanoica

    Frank Sanoica Supreme Member
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    @Don Alaska "Medicare is the biggest reason that American healthcare costs are so high."

    I have to quietly but firmly disagree with you on this. Clearly, logically, the biggest reason for healhcare costs being unacceptably high are the astronomical charges billed by medical providers. An example: My wife's mother's surgeon's bill worked out to around $12,000 per hour. I see this just about everywhere I look: ridiculously high fees charged, as well as ridiculously high costs billed for medications provided, especially by hospitals during confinement there.
    Frank
     
    #29
  15. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    Frank, Medicare Part B is optional, as are C (Advantage) and D (Drugs). Part A is free and covers only inpatient hospital care, which hospitals try to avoid due to the low reimbursement.
     
    #30
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