Originally posted by RealSpoke
it is very clear why the idea of Government-Run Health Care is unconstitutional.
You should tell whoever wrote this that Obamacare is not "Government Ran Healthcare". We already have that, it's called medcaid.
edit on 2-7-2012 by RealSpoke because: (no reason given)
We also have Medicare, which is also government run.
I work in a hospital, and when people that come in that do not have insurance, the first thing the hospital does is sign them up with either Medicare
if they meet the requirements, or Medicaid. They are assured they get paid. There is no "self paid" anymore, unless someone opts to self pay for an
elective surgery.
Once in a while, people *do* opt to do that. They negotiate a rate with the hospital and physisican, and sign a contract, pay in full prior to
surgery, and have their operation.
Usually, though, it is traumas that come in, DUI's that have hit someone else, or someone that was hit by a DUI, and either one or both are uninsured.
Amazingly, one or both are also not motor-vehicle insured.
The hospital, however, assures that both parties are insured medically, and get their bills paid. Rarely, *very* rarely, does a case come through the
door in my unit that leaves "self pay", with a debt.
The real problem is not if they have health insurance. The real problem is what Medicare and Medicaid will reimburse, or allow, as acceptable
coverage.
In my opinion, for what that's worth, people are arguing the totally wrong points in all of this....
Medicare and Medicaid pay well below market value, allow the most miniscule of items for bare medical care, and everything else is taken at a loss for
the hospital. This is what causes the huge mark-ups on health insurance and "self-pay" bills, You, the responsible parties, are paying for the
cheapness of the government payout.
Therein lies the real truth. Perhaps try looking into what is "allowable" for people under Medicare guidelines. United Healthcare and Kaiser also go
by Medicare guidelines for allowable coverage.
For instance a person at home that has a diabetic foot ulcer: (this is just an example)
1 package of sterile gauze 2x2
1 package of sterile gauze 4x4
1 box of 50 pairs of gloves
2 bottles of peroxide
1 bottle alcohol
1 roll of paper tape
2 package of sterile gauze pads
per month
This sounds like a lot, but when you have to cleanse and dress a wound perhaps 3-4 times a DAY? It's the bare minimum.
Now, I am not even talking about the inflated 17.95 for the hospital Tylenol. I am talking replacement of perhaps 0.10 per pill. That isn't even
replacement value. The difference in the coverage, is written off at a loss, the loss is then made up in the 17.95 Tylenol charged to YOUR insurance
company or self pay bill.
Along with this is the simple fact that *all* hospitals are required to take in a certain amount of "indigent care" per year, at a loss, or lose
federal funding. That loss gets passed along. Guess who pays it? Lets not even mention Government funded not-for-profit hospitals. Most of their
"not-profit" comes from insurance patients that get elective surgeries, such as back surgeries that are non-emergency, or knee-replacement. These
*are* considered elective surgeries, and are what keep hospitals afloat.
Last year my not-for-profit hospital made about $30,000 profit for the year, but managed to build a multi-million dolar heart center. It's all
semantics.
Healthcare is already free to people, and we are already paying for it, but the ignorant multitudes are being led down the garden path by the nose,
and don't even know it. Not one person, ever, is turned away from getting care, and not one person leaves without being signed up for Medicare or
Medicaid to have their bill paid.
edit on 3-7-2012 by Libertygal because: (no reason given)
