I have just returned from my medical appointment at a large Cancer Center where I observed at least 50 people in the waiting area wearing their masks and waiting to see their Oncologist. It's not just COVD 19 that the health care industry is making money, It's CANCER and ALL the health issues of a AGING SOCIETY. FRANKLY--I don't care who is making money, I just want to live as well and comfortable as possible I have Medicare and a Supplement and pay NOTHING out of pocket for my health care. The facility where I live is part of a money making large corporation that operates many Assisted Living Facilities. I would fully expect that they will make some money because of COVID testing etc. I could care less.
I believe you mean you "couldn't" care less. Regardless, you don't care because you have good coverage for your care. People with more limited means care very much about the costs, and they want to live just as much as YOU do.
Of course their are people of limited means that want to live and live well, but they are not the ones that can solve their problems., nor can you or I.
The fact that I can't solve their problems doesn't mean that I don't sympathize or feel that their lives and access to health care are every bit as important as mine. Like you, I am lucky to have good healthcare, though I never realized how good until I was diagnosed with cancer. The other side of the healthcare costs coin is that all the facilities, education, research, staffing, etc. are expensive to operate. Someone has to pay for it, so naturally it falls on the recipients of the care and their insurance carriers. The only parties in this scheme I don't feel sorry about are the insurance companies, whose main focus is how to deny coverage.
Thanks for making that correction, Beth! When a person mistakenly says "I could care less", that means that there is room for caring less then they do now. "I couldn't care Less" removes that possibility! Hal
I really, really like this sentence (in red above). However, we both have Medicare A/B and a Supplement and Drug Plan. There is a monthly premium we have to pay for all three, plus a yearly deductible for our Medicare. I also have VA, that I use more than Medicare. My PCP is with VA as are my medications. Due to a yearly rising cost of Medicare premium and deductible, as well as my Supplement and Drug Plan, I may end up going with VA only.
I believe what started this conversation is not the cost of care, but the waste of resources as some institutions seek to invoice as many services as they possibly can. I believe I am in two of those boats. Boat #1 I has a small stroke in January 2020. It was no big deal. I have no risk factors: low blood pressure, low cholesterol, no AFIB, I don't smoke, my arteries are clear (I had a vascular screening in June 2019.) I got hooked up with a cardiologist who did his own echo-cardiogram (on top of the one the hospital already did) and saw a little "vegetative growth" on my aorta. This is not uncommon. He decided he needs to go in through my esophagus and take a look "just in case." It's outpatient procedure done in a hospital environment. COVID has caused it to be deferred. He has me coming in every 3 months for an assistant to take my blood pressure (always been normal), hook me up to an EKG machine (always been normal, and has nothing to do with a stroke), then the doctor comes in and tells me that COVID is still here so we're gonna continue to defer the procedure. Then he sends a bill to Medicare. Every 3 months. Last time I told him I did not see the need...that I can watch the news and see that COVID is still here, so why do we even meet until it's time for the procedure? I asked him what specific care was I receiving? He got sarcastic and said "I don't want to inconvenience you. We'll make it every 6 months." That first 6 month appointment was to have been today. I already cancelled it last week. This guy had me plugged in to a 5 minute procedure an assistant does and a one minute conversation with him so he can invoice Medicare every 3 (or 6) months, and I derive zero medical benefit. Boat #2 I've been having urology issues. A bladder stone and kidney stones were discovered during a CT Scan that was looking at other issues. I had the bladder stone removed, but I'm still struggling with other issues. Regarding the kidney stones, I first passed stones in 1990. I had them pretty regularly--nothing serious--for over 20 years, and have not passed one since maybe 2005. The CT Scan showed 3 of them left. The urologist said I need to come in every 90 days to have them x-rayed. I asked why, after 30 years, I now have to be monitored 4 times a year when there's only 3 inconsequential stones left and I've never been monitored??? They are not large, they are not causing discomfort, they are just there. She said "So we can see if they move," to which I replied "So what action will be taken if they do move?" and she said "Monitor them." I declined. She said "Then we'll put down that you are refusing to have them monitored." I said "That's fine. Please include an explanation as to the medical need that's not being addressed." She just looked at me. In other words--just like the cardiologist--they want me to return every 3 months so a technician can do a routine x-ray for no valid medical reason, a doctor can read the report, and they can bill Medicare...4 times a year...FOREVER!!! It's all cash-flow. Summary THIS is the crap that has got to stop. Having this stuff done will not cost me a dime and will be a minor inconvenience. But daggone it, I have a responsibility. I am on the front line of dollars being wasted. And quite frankly, I resent the system expecting me to acquiesce to being a party to it. This is the stuff that started the conversation...not the cost of healthcare (which is certainly an issue), but the needless procedures to keep cash coming in.
Lots of moving parts in health care. High cost of med school, high cost of malpractice insurance, need to practice "defensive medicine", HIPAA issue, COVID, etc. God Bless our medical workers, even those we think are greedy.