Thursday, June 13, 2013

If More Doctors Did This Health Insurance Would Be Lower

According to MSNmoney, more doctors are switching to a cash only business model.  The article doesn't state the reason why this is happening, though I suspect Obama care may be somewhat involved, but it doesn't matter. This is good news. The reason why is that the biggest reason why health care costs so much in America is the fact that we use insurance to pay for everything.  Name one industry or service other than health care where you have a third party pay some or all of the cost for a majority of Americans who are using it? There isn't any, and you can be assured that whatever costs the insurance company is paying, they are recouping and then some.

For more on why itself is the problem, please visit TrueCostofHealcare, a website run by one Dr. David Belk.

6 comments:

  1. Sounds reasonable and sensible enough to me! We already have car insurance to worry about and in some cases, life insurance too, not to mention high taxes depending on what state you're living in and rental or mortage payments. If you're really financially conscious, then having a financial planner and consulting with a good insurance agency are a must.

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  2. Let me put some perspective on this. If I had not had insurance for my bunion surgery (one foot)the fee to use the operating room in the hospital alone was 30,000 dollars. Yes, I am not adding a zero or two...honest to God, 30,000 dollars. The doctor and anesthetists' fees were a steal comparatively at about 3000 for both (one tenth the hospital fee to use their room for an hour). There aren't a lot of people with enough ready cash available to pay the amount of a new car to fix a toe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your surgery didn't really cost that much, not even close that to much. It is an inflated bill, one which the hospital knowing will never collect the full amount. Of that 30,000 how much do you think was paid by the insurance? My guess is a fraction of that amount.

      Why do I say this? Well a doctor started looking into it and he put together a website detailing exactly how our current insurance screws everything over. Here is a page that is particularly relevant to you.

      http://truecostofhealthcare.org/hospitalization

      Delete
    2. (Anon above again)
      That is one of the most interesting things I've ever read, CL.
      It should be required reading.

      Delete
  3. I had to have my appendix taken out a month ago. The total cost to me was originally about 19,000.

    16,xxx for the hospital total
    2,100 for the anesthesiologists
    500 for the doctor

    But because I have no insurance i filled out a financial review form and they may drop the price some though I haven't heard back yet. It's damn bad luck it couldn't have waited 2-3 months when i was supposed to start my new gig and be fully insured.

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    Replies
    1. That sucks man, especially because the way pricing works is to the detriment of someone like you. The insurance company is able to get the 'bogus' costs to disappear because they have all the cards. Someone like you, or me before I got my HSA, has a lot harder time. I hope they drop the price a good amount for you.

      Delete

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Seattle resident whose real name is Kevin Daniels. This blog covers the following topics, libertarian philosophy, realpolitik, western culture, history and the pursuit of truth from the perspective of a libertarian traditionalist.