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UPDATE: People have pointed me to this DKos diary, where it appears Holmes was not diagnosed with a brain tumor, but a cyst, and she has repeatedly appeared on TV claiming the tumor story. While that’s not particularly surprising, that even underscores the bottom line is her story proves we need reform because she had to put a second mortgage on her home, borrow from friends and her husband took a second job to be able to afford the $100k U.S. surgery.
Q of the day: do you have a health care horror story to share? Was it denial of service or meds by your insurance, or hospital bureaucracy, or something even more onerous, like poor quality care?
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I have to agree with this assertion over at Eschaton — “The reality is if you get real sick, no matter if you’re insured or not, you’re probably financially fucked.” The partisan bickering over how much it is going to cost is ludicrous — the cost is just one part of the problem, the fact that we have so many people uninsured and worse, under-insured, is the reality of too many Americans and to get everyone adequate care will likely cost trillions.
Those of us who do have decent insurance, are rightfully concerned that government mucking around in the system and playing politics with something that should be a right — equal access to GOOD medical care for all — is going to end up a big mess.
I’m not going to debate the merits of one plan or another here; I’m just looking at health care as a “frequent flyer” consumer with pre-existing conditions who sees doctors and specialists several times a year, and has adequate insurance that still has left me with long waits to see a specialist (3 months is not unheard of), and dealt with substandard care.
In our current system nearly everyone has horror stories about waiting for insurance to approve the most basic common sense things — like one extra day in the hospital after a c-section, or trying to get a medication not yet in generic form that you and your doctor know works and the insurance company insists on a different generic substitute or you pay outright. The number and type of what I call “drive-by” surgeries, where they kick you to the curb a couple of hours after you’ve been opened up on the table is astonishing — they wanted to do that for my gall bladder surgery and I begged to stay overnight because I’ve had complications after ambulatory surgery before that landed me back in the ER the next day. Thankfully it was approved, because I was right — I developed a fever and had serious difficulties that I wouldn’t have been able to manage at home.
But what if the insurance company had said no. That happens all the time. It happened to me several years ago, I wasn’t able to stay overnight and went into the drive-through surgery; I developed a serious staph infection. It required a second surgery a couple of weeks later. Oh, and I had to pay a lot out of pocket for that second surgery even though I wasn’t responsible for the need for it, even with insurance. A little time and attention would have saved everyone a lot of grief.
And prescription insurance — well big pharma makes us all pay for the price controls in other countries. I totaled up medications I take each month to see what they would cost if I didn’t have insurance — over $900/month! That’s insane. John’s story is no better, and again, he has insurance.
I didn’t know what my good plan covered until I got asthma as a result of my allergies. Now I know that my asthma drugs cost a whopping $471 a month. That’s $5,652 a year. After Blue Cross’ paltry share, that leaves me with $4,152 a year in asthma drugs (not counting any other prescriptions I may have to take for other unrelated problems that may arise). My insurance costs me nearly $420 a month. That’s another $5,040 a year. And the premium goes up around 25% a year. Imagine how much it’s going to be in ten years when I’m 55. And the joke, Blue Cross will still only give me $1500 in prescription drug coverage ten years from now – that’s the way their policy works. I got $1500 when I started 12 years ago with them, and I’ll have $1500 in ten years.
The problem here — and I’m calling out all of the elected officials on the Hill — is that while they are bickering about numbers (it will be huge no matter what we end up with I want all of them to answer one question: do they believe every person in the country is entitled to the same health care choices and offerings as Congress? If not, why not?
“It’s too expensive” is not a legitimate answer.
That answer is loaded with the difficult truth underlying the debate — a lot of people determining the fate of our health care system believe there should be a tiered level of care — that some people are deserving of A+ quality care with all the options available, and some are not, and should be satisfied with something less, or fewer options because they poor or underinsured. If this is the case, state it now.
If Congress is satisfied with their current care, why not price out that model to cover everyone, and work the numbers. Obviously Dear Leader didn’t put a price tag on his war adventures and we’re still running up an endless tab that produced death and destruction that Congress keeps funding.
The high cost of health care is also due to doctors and hospitals covering their butts with extra unnecessary tests to avoid lawsuits, emergency rooms flooded with people who have no insurance and cannot pay, so the cost is passed on to those who can. Big pharma counts on us to boost the profits they cannot extract from countries with price controls; doctors have to carry high liability insurance because we’re such a litigious society…the list goes on and on.
Employer group policy deductibles keep rising each year, or services are reduced because the employer cannot afford to underwrite the costs to hold the line on premiums. No one should have their health care plan tied to their employment. It has to be portable and stable. COBRA, intended to provide portability of a policy for those who leave a job, is often too expensive.
And remember, if your plan is tied to your employment and you’re have pre-existing conditions, you better find a large company with a big group policy and never leave that job, since small businesses are more likely to have crappier policies or heinously high premiums — or offer no insurance at all.
The whole system is broken — except when it’s not and works just fine for a good number of people.
Why is it so difficult to put that level of priority setting on health care? Maybe I’m missing something.
So back to the debate — since any solution — public/private/co-op will be a huge, expensive endeavor — what is the baseline of quality services that everyone should receive? Ability to pay should not matter, because we already know we have millions of unemployed people without the ability to pay right now. We have a system where only the well-insured and wealthy are able to get expedited or specialized care.
The real underlying problem here in all of this — and I think it’s tied to the general capitalist, class-based mindset in this country — that there’s a basic assumption that the health of some Americans is worth more than others. And I’m not just talking about the super-wealthy, it goes for the “aspirational set” as well. You know, the Rush listener, the Base, the blue-collar social conservatives who dream of the wealth and upward mobility that the Republicans sell them — until those titans of industry shut the plants down or move them overseas, and leave Joe Lunchbucket high and dry with an empty wallet, no health insurance and a family to feed. Only then does the reality set in.
Because of that there will always be a feeling out there it’s essential for any reform to include a way to “get a leg up” in terms of access and services that preserves the best care for the class-based or luck-based (you have a good job with great health plan benefits) privileged, leaving anyone who doesn’t getting cost-restricted, access-restricted services.
Let’s take a look at an ad (R) you might be seeing on your TV right now. More below the fold.The commercials running down here in NC are outlandishly slanted and misleading, particularly one from a group called Patients United Now. The ad, “Survivor,” features a Canadian woman, Shona Holmes, who had a brain tumor, telling her story about her health care nightmare. She had to come to the U.S. to receive first-class care because the six-month wait to see a specialist in her country would have cost her life.
Her story is (partially) true. She’s right in one respect – we do have first-class health care here — if you have enough money you can buy any health services you need. She might be able to cross over to the U.S, but some people living here, even with insurance, can’t afford jack.
What you didn’t see in that ad is what she and her friends and family had to do to make that U.S. medical care happen. Holmes testified at a Health Reform Hearing before the Energy and Commerce Committee and you can see why Patients United Now didn’t add this bit of business:
My family and I decided to contact the Mayo Clinic in Arizona. We got an appointment immediately and I flew alone to Phoenix, 2,000 miles from my home outside of Toronto. Within a week, the doctors at the Mayo Clinic diagnosed me with a brain tumor, pressing on my optic chiasm causing the rapid vision loss. I had to have it removed within six weeks or my vision would continue to deteriorate and I would lose my sight. This was the tip of the iceberg of treatment that I would need to seek; however, it was the most crucial.Three weeks after my diagnosis and unable to expedite the surgery in Canada, my husband bumped up hours in a second job, took out a second mortgage on our home, borrowed from family and friends, and rallied all of our financial resources so we could cover the $100,000 worth of expenses for my surgery and we flew back to Arizona so the doctors at the Mayo Clinic could remove my tumor. Ironically at that time a second surgery was strongly recommended by the Mayo clinic.
I required a second surgery to remove my adrenal glad. I returned to Canada and got back in line. I am here to report that surgery was done in Canada, but three years later. I will never know the amount of irreversible tissue damage that such wait times have caused. I will never get back the time, money, and life I dedicated to the fight to get the basic treatment that I was not only promised by my government, but was ordered by my government. I will never forget the experience of treatment in a facility suffering so badly from government funding shortages in staff and resources that even a pillow case on my bed was not to be found.
I know that the American health care system is not perfect, but again, I credit the system for saving my life. It is because of the choices available here in this country that I was able to receive the immediate care I needed. We as Canadians have one insurance company – the government. No option. Can’t choose another company, can’t supplement with after-tax dollars to purchase extra care. We can purchase health insurance for our pets, but not our children.
In Canada, I have very few rights as a patient. Patients there have to fight for the very basic services and care, much less any kind of specialized care. I am here today not only to tell you my own story but also to ask you, as leaders of this great country, not to destroy American health care but to keep in place the options that all Americans have for acquiring health care. Where would we Canadians go if the American health care system becomes like Canada’s?
“That’s the stuff that I find so tragic — having dinner with my friends and I know how much money I owe them,” Holmes says, tears streaming down her face.
Now tell me, how many Americans could say the same thing about our own system? What she had to go through to pull together $100K shouldn’t have to be done either!
No one said the Canadian system is perfect; particularly in cases where specialists are needed, everyone should have timely access for serious deadly conditions. However, in this country, people who are underinsured or uninsured can be bankrupted by treatment for illnesses or injuries much less severe than Shona Holmes’s brain tumor. That’s the problem — the commercial doesn’t show who’s left out of the current U.S. system and who is cut off from the services they need.
From my POV, given our dog-eat-dog mentality here in the U.S., it’s hard to imagine a public/private/co-op system emerging that will 1) hold down costs, and 2) provide first-class care in a timely manner to everyone that compares to the best private insurance out there now or what someone with deep pockets can buy. Polls show Americans want a universal health care that is comprehensive — but no one wants to pay for it. We can’t have it both ways, and Congress knows that. To the layperson out there all of the parties out there have a lot to lose and nothing to gain in an overhaul that is drenched in partisan politics.
15 Comments
Right on PamFacts up front – I work in the health care industry, at a non-profit quality organization, and we are knee-deep in the health care reform debate right now (not me personally, thankfully – I can’t stand Hill politics). I have spent 20 years in health care, and the problems we face in our “system” are so varied and difficult that there is no way we can fix them quickly or easily. That doesn’t mean we can’t start though – we can’t afford to stick with the status quo.
I will speak up, though, in support of the insurance companies. It is easy to hate them, but I have dealt with insurance both as a beneficiary (yeah, it sucks) and seen it from the operations point of view. There are, believe it or not, a hell of a lot of dedicated people at health insurance companies, who really do care about their members and want to see them healthy.
So why do we have horror stories (my on personal favorite is when the brainiac in Customer Support told me “Just because your drug is on the ‘Not Covered’ list doesn’t mean it’s not covered” – and that was in response to a question as to why they denied it)? Because we don’t have a “system” at all; we have a patchwork of private enterprises and government agencies that range from the small-town 1-doctor practice with his wife as all-purpose billing/office manager to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs vast national network of care centers. These different entities may or may not be computerized, may or may not understand the coverage rules of whatever insurance they happen to be working with and may or may not know the best current practice for the specific patient’s case. Add that all together and you have a recipe for disaster. Hell, it took until the 1990s before all the insurance companies and all the hospitals, doctors, clinics, etc. started using the same standard claim form and coding systems – and that was forced on them by the government. Until then, every insurer could have its own coding system, and even that might vary by state.
IMHO, we have to separate health care from employment and standardize the hell out of it. One of the major reasons for all the insurer bullsh*t about mis-processed and improperly denied claims is that benefits are customized to each employer group that buys insurance from the company. Employers like to offer health insurance, but to save money they will agree to limits and conditions on coverage that lowers their premium, but can make the insurance far less valuable (Then, when the insurer denies a claims because of employer benefit cutbacks, who gets the blame?). It also makes it far harder to administer, so insurer employees screw up and the patients suffer. And that’s just one area of the “system” that is prone to failure; there are dozens more.
I don’t personally believe that health care is a right, rather, I believe it is a public good, just like the defense of our nation or its environment. We all benefit from a healthy productive workforce, and our economy would greatly benefit from a more efficient, more effective health care system, which is more than possible. But it requires coordination on the federal level – only the federal government can manage something this big and complex, and it is EXACTLY why we have a federal government.
I don’t think we can simply adopt a Canadian or European system – those countries don’t have the population size and/or varied geography of the US (and yes, geography matters – health care access issues in NYC are totally different from those in, say, rural Colorado). I don’t think a one-size-fits-all system will work in the US, but we need big changes.
1. National financing – we have more than enough $$ in the system to cover everyone, but we don’t spend it right, the first step in fixing that is pooling all the money
2. Non-profit health care - we simply should not allow health care companies – those that directly serve patients, – to be for-profit. Health care delivery is not a “growth opportunity”
3. Standard benefits – everyone is eligible for preventive, dental, medical and behavioral care, you can buy up to additional benefits (alternative medicine, perhaps, or lower copays if you are a frequent user)
4. Health care IT – it is ridiculous that I can take out money in CA and my bank in DC knows how much, where and when I withdrew it, but it takes 30 – 90 days for claims to move through a typical insurer. It is insane that I can carry a telephone that doubles as a computer, but my old doctor is still using paper medical records.
5. Public financing of medical education/ increased use of non-physician practitioners – One big way to drive down the cost of care would be to break the monopoly on medical education that the big med schools have. Doctors routinely graduate with hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt, so of course they flock to high-paying areas and specialties, leaving primary care and rural areas desperately underserved. We also overuse doctors, when nurse practitioners or physician assistants can provide probably 75 – 80% of primary care. Do you really need to see the doctor to get your flu shot or your baby’s immunizations?
That’s just a few ideas, we’ll have to see what the Congress and the administration will come up with. Whatever it is, be sure that it will require tweaks and fixes and improvements. Let’s hope they get off to a good start, though. Right now I would say I am cautiously optimistic, but that changes with every news cycle.
Health-care billing: a mini-monster all its ownI went to my health system’s traffic cops about six months ago because I had knocked open a little berry angioma on the side of my head for the nth time and I got fed up with it. Can’t just make an appointment with dermatology directly, of course. Much to my surprise, there was a cancellation in dermatology and they were able to squeeze me in the same day. I had a fifteen-minute consultation during which a random trainee dermatologist and his supervisor took a brief history — how long has this been here, has it been growing, etc. — and then cut it off for me. He insisted upon sending it off to the lab “just to be sure,” and then we shook hands and I went back to my office.
A month later and one of the minor horrors of modern American medicine started up: the parade of bills and “explanation of benefits” letters started up. Seven different pieces of mail regarding the finances of this one brief visit. When the four (!) bills are added up, the total for this fifteen-minute sharpened-spoon job came to over $300, plus quite a bit more that was picked up by my insurance.
The cost is pretty ridiculous here, but the billing system is even worse. I’ve got a master’s degree and I am working on my Ph.D., but I am still not sure I understand what i was charged for and why. I suspect that my difficulty is the intentional result of a system designed to make it difficult or impossible for patients to do anything other than roll over and pay whatever bills are put in front of them for services that were rendered without any discussion of cost.
The differences between the US, UK and Canada are not pronounced
The UK population is around 60M, about 1/5 of that of the US. That’s smaller, sure, but it is not as though we were talking about Liechtenstein. And have you looked at the geography of Canada lately? Most of it is every bit as sparsely-populated and rural as anywhere in the US. Some of my relatives live deep in the middle of nowhere.
I’ve posted about this before, but since it’s the Q of the day…About two and half years ago I went blind. I was diagnosed with cataracts in both eyes, and they developed very rapidly (which they do in rare cases). Within a matter of months I was legally blind and barely able to function. My then health insurance company refused to pay for surgery. Their claim was that a writer doesn’t need to be able to see (doesn’t everybody need to be able to see?) and that therefore it would be elective surgery.
To my eternal gratitude, the state of Pennsylvania, realizing that it’s not good policy to let productive citizens go blind, provided me with emergency Medicaid (through the Bureau of Blind and Visual Services), which paid for the surgery.
I’ve had friends die of cancer and AIDS (in the early years of the epidemic) while their insurance companies gave them a fast shuffle. When I hear people say that a government run health care system would be worse than what we have, my jaw drops in disbelief. I have never heard of Medicare or Medicaid denying essential services to anyone. Private health insurers do it all the time.
Bankrupted fast …I saved my money for years and never even used the health insurance I had. I was always too busy working to even take the time off. Then in 2008 I decided to go back to school to train for a better career. I couldn’t afford the $1100/month that COBRA wanted, so I figured I would go without for a year. Within that year, for the first time I had a couple of health problems. First I got a hernia. That cost me $6200 out of pocket to get a surgical repair. Then a few weeks later I injured my shoulder. I went to an orthopedist and he charged me $580 for a 20 minute appointment in which all he did was prescribe an anti-inflammatory (that I later found I could buy over-the-counter).
my heathcare rantsAlmost thirty years ago I was diagnosed with hydrocephalus as an adolescent. In the five years that followed, I endured 21 surgeries to place and replace spinal fluid shunts, plus one ill-conceived attempt to biopsy or remove the pea-sized tumor (a tectal glioma) that caused hydrocephalus (HCP) to develop. I long blamed the neurosurgeons for bad work when, in fact, it was my immune system treating the shunts as invaders.
Still, I harbor enormous contempt for a health care system that subjected me to the procedure with the longer recovery time and the broader degree of training in the neurosurgery community, compared to the alternative which I finally received in April 2008 after the last of the shunts-Number 24–failed. Endoscopic third ventriculostomy was the original treatment for HCP devised at John Hopkins decades ago, though it was a very risky procedure before the advent of computer-guided surgery and magnetic resonance imagery. Shunts came along as a less risky approach to the ETV and became the standard of care, though surgeons and researchers knew that some individuals would reject tubing, develop site infections, or have shunt valves fail due to particle accumulation from the diverted spinal fluid.
Because HCP and shunt failure are often not diagnosed until symptoms are deemed critical, patients presenting with hydrocephalus are offered the treatment available from the nearest brain surgeon, not what may be most appropriate for longterm success. Still, I have been held in ICU three times for a few days with my head sandbagged and a drain needle through my skull while a shunt revision could be scheduled. So, it’s not like HCP patients cannot be treated for symptoms while treatment options are discussed in a thoughtful manner.
Studies over the last two years show the unquestionable superiority of ETVs, as compared to shunts, in the vast majority of HCP circumstances, particularly in terms durability, speed of recovery (I was only in hospital overnight last year!), cost, and complications; however, patients are rarely advised of the alternative by surgeons, unless the surgeon is an experienced ETV provider. I was fortunate to present memory problems to a very knowledgeable neurologist who ordered an MRI, told me that HCP had reappeared, but assured me that there was an alternative to shunts and that my symptoms could be managed to some degree to keep me working as long as possible. The eventual surgery occurred five weeks later after careful research on my part (oh, to be a celebrity in the operating suite!), and I was back to work in three weeks, compared to the usual six for a shunt.
The Healthcare CFFirst, my heart goes out to every one of you, and every American who has suffered under this system.
I was pretty lucky, in that during the LONG period when I had no health insurance: from the age of 17 until 35, I never developed any health problems to speak of (except for depression, which I didn’t even know could be treated during that time. I suppose that’s a sad thing in and of itself. But it hardly rivals a spinal fluid shunt!
Anyway my only significant story is once when I was a teenager – I think I was 18, I got strep throat. I was so terribly ill. But I had no insurance, living in a basement apartment for $340 a month and delivering pizza for a living. I was so afraid of the cost of an emergency room visit that I stayed at home. My fever was horrible. I became delirious. My roommate was terrified. She forced me into a cool shower to bring my temperature down, but she was in the same financial situation I was, and she too feared the cost of getting help. Who knows? She may have saved my life. I struggled through that infection with no antibiotics.
Later I found out how cheap antibiotics really are. I was so angry.
Now, this happened when I was young and stupid, and didn’t know you could DIE from a strep infection. But I also had no idea what help might have been available. I don’t doubt that it was a situation that plays itself out every day, all across America. And that was just one illness that was easily treatable.
Now I have great health insurance, which I am deeply grateful for. How sad that having health care is such a privledge and not a right in a weathly developed country like the USA.
I Have Insurance, but….I wrote this on another site in response to an article: “I am a professional who has the highest level of standard in insurance possible; however, I also have a very rare lymphoma, and my experience with business insurance has been irritating at least and dangerous at most. Yes, insurance has done a lot for me, but it is my vigilence that keeps me alive-the companies would screw me over so badly if I did not fight. In fact, a fellow employee died because his cancer came back, but the hospital could not get him back in for testing. By the time he did get in, it was too late-he had 5 months.
I was forced to leave my insurance this year after rates were raised $4000 for everyone in a single year. Since we have no raises the last few years, I had to go for the cheaper insurance (everyone did also). The coverage is the same. However, transfering information and getting my treatment restarted is a nightmare. I have been without treatment for 4 weeks. I have been told I cannot even have an appointment for 7 more weeks. I am currently throwing a fit because it is like a diabetic being denied insulin for 11 weeeks. One doctor even ridiculed me for leaving the previous insurance. If I were to fully explain the problems I have had with insurance run by business, you would be horrified.
I should be one of the supporters of “choice” and no government option. Yet, when I was on the public option in college (because I was poor), I had much better care, and I was able to actually get from point A to point B without much problem. We need to quit thinking that somehow business works better. Government can work fine (such as with law enforcement). Business should work better, but I feel that there is no humanity in dealing with the business option. Universal healthcare is not a perfect idea, but I suspect I would have a much easier time dealing with my situation if the system was more continuous and connected (let me also just mention that my experience with French healthcare during my three years in France was perfect-the French love it, and the healthcare was much better than our healthcare).”
Update: I went to urgent care today for a matter that should have been resolved if I was in treatment currently. A tumor on my belly started opening, and I am concerned about further growth and infection. If I had been able to do treatment, I would never have gone to urgent care. Luckily, the doctor contacted the doctors who need to treat me and basically said I need to get into treatment immediately. She then gave me antibiotics to stop infection. I am hoping that they will now contact me so I can arrange treatment (this is now the fourth doctor who has contacted them to say I need immediate treatment). Who knows what will happen? This is the weekend, so I have to wait for a call.
An Outsider OpinionI am lucky enough to live in a country with universal health care (Australia) and have been watching the American debate with some interest. Our system doesn’t work brilliantly,but generally works well enough- I don’t know of anyone privately insured or not that has been forced into bankruptcy by medical bills,for example. While there is no way I would consider getting rid of the system we have here Americans will have to accept that a universal health care system will be far from perfect- you will have waiting lists, it will probably cost much more than first though and you will have to pay more tax. However you will probably end up with better overall health in your communities,especially the working poor.And removing at least some of the economic stresses on the ill in these economic times can only be a positive move. Just my two cents!
Cost is a red herringThis talk of a public system costing a trillion dollars is somewhat of a red herring. Yes, it will cost money, but not any more money than is now being spent. It is simply a matter of redirecting money currently spent on private coverage and out of pocket costs and putting it into a public system. Overall, with the profit margin removed from insurance the system will cost less.
A couple of years ago Toyota was planning to build a new plant in North America. After extensive scouting, their short list came down to a choice between Kentucky and Ontario. They decided to build in Ontario because they did the math and concluded that paying higher taxes in Canada (part of which goes into health care) was cheaper than lower taxes plus the cost of private insurance in Kentucky.
I am wondering why more American businesses and corporations aren’t being more vocal in supporting a public system? They all stand to benefit financially from it, even if their taxes are a bit higher. It will also put all businesses on more even footing in attracting workers.
Canada spends less of its GDP on healthcare than the US, and it covers EVERYONE, without any co-payments. (For the most part. In my province their is a $15 co-pay for physiotherapy and similar amount for chiropractic, but there is no co-pay for essential care.)
Another cost savings is in malpractice insurance. A major part of a malpractice settlements in the US is money to pay for future medical costs for fixing the doctor’s mistake. In Canada, since those costs are already covered by the public system, settlements are much lower, only covering things such as loss of income.
I wonder how much extra public funds we’d have to divert ifwe closed several hundred of the at least 700 overseas military bases necessary to support our global “peacekeeping” enterprises.
Outsider AgainStephanie-you bring up good points! I may be incorrect, but apparently having to act as a health care provider was costing General Motors up to $2000 per car built…this may have been exagerated, but it can’t be helping U.S businesses competitiveness.
The Shona Homes AdThe description of a “brain tumor” gives the impression of a malignant growth. What was involved was liquid filled cyst close to her optic nerve and pituitary gland. This is the Mayo Clinic(they to have a horse in this) site http://www.mayoclinic.org/pati…
inflation of basic servicesAnother thing that is a problem is the major inflation of simple procedures. I have health insurance through my parents, but it is based out of my home state of Minnesota. I live and go to school in Philadelphia, and there aren’t a lot of places that my insurance directly supports. The deal my company has is that if I get medical attention from an unsupported clinic I have to make up 10% of the total cost. Several months ago I went in to get a growth I had developed checked out at a local clinic. It turns out it was just a wart, and they simply froze it off there. I figured a 20 minute check-up and a few squirts of liquid nitro can’t be that much, and I’ll be able to pay it off no problem. Two weeks later I receive a bill for $65. While that doesn’t seem like much, remember, that is only 10% of the total cost of the visit. In other words THEY CHARGED $650.00 TO FREEZE OFF A WART, or, as they called it, “SURGERY”. In contrast, I can go to the local CVS and buy a bottle of Dr. Scholl’s freeze away (Which, btw, is good for 12 treatments) for $24.99. So another problem that needs to be addressed is the inflation of simple health service to astronomical amounts for no good reason
A friend asked me to post his story because prospective employees now do internet searchesI know someone who is a veteran of the U.S. military, now back in school to earn an advanced degree. He has HIV. Without treatment he would die, but the medication costs $40,000 per year. Self-insurance is out of the question – even if he could find a plan that would cover him with this preexisting condition, it would far exceed most people’s income.
His student insurance plan dropped him, too, due to the preexisting condition. He fears that potential employees will not hire him, and even if/when he finds a new job, it is very unlikely that the employer health care plan will cover him. So – if he’s “lucky” – he’ll remain on Medicaid for the rest of his life, while his state pays the pharmaceutical companies $40,000 a year for treatment that would cost considerably less in a true free market.
This is a young man, someone still in their early thirties, who is a veteran of the U.S. military. He saw combat. And this is how we “support our troops?”
And don’t get me started on the thousands of Iraqi and Afghan war veterans returning with severe head injuries and Post Traumatic Stress without access to mental health care. Some incredible percentage of homeless people – those men we all see living in the medians of the highways – are veterans.