OT: father is visiting and hospitalized by stroke

[Eugene]

[quote=CA renter]
I’ve long tried to understand the cost structure that can arrive at a $30K+ bill in just a day or two. If we want to fix our healthcare system, I think we first need to understand where the money is going.[/quote]

That’s what happens when you have, on one hand, 5000 hospitals, and, on the other hand, 500 health insurance companies, and they are all trying to fight over profits. You’re expected to negotiate. Think TJ shop only on a national scale. You’re a fool if pay the first price you hear.

For example, the hospital will not hesitate to charge you $5000 for a MRI scan, even if their internal cost analysis shows that the scan _really_ costs $400 (including capital costs, amortized over expected lifetime of the device, technicians’ salaries, electricity, air conditioning, and maintenance; excluding the radiologist fee). It is understood that many uninsured patients will simply walk out without paying anything or declare bankruptcy, and that insurance companies will negotiate over fees for insured patients. In reality, the hospital would be quite happy to get $500, which is approximately what Medicare/Medicaid would pay for the test.

So, these absurd bills are not necessarily representative of real costs of healthcare. Poring over them wouldn’t do much good.

[ocrenter]

[quote=briansd1][quote=ocrenter]cardiac bypass or multiple stent placement.[/quote]

I didn’t know that the emergency room would actually arrange to do all of that to stabilize the patient.

The patient would have to be in bad shape already to need that.[/quote]

The ER would not. But faced with someone who “says” they are actively having chest pain, they will admit. once admitted, a stress test will be done. since the patient really do have cardiac issues, the stress test will of course be positive.

so the doctors now have a patient who continue to report “ongoing pain” along with a positive stress test. they’ll do the angiogram and find the multiple blockage in the coronaries, and guess what, onward to the cardiac bypass the patient was hoping for.

[ocrenter]

[quote=briansd1][quote=ocrenter]cardiac bypass or multiple stent placement.[/quote]

I didn’t know that the emergency room would actually arrange to do all of that to stabilize the patient.

The patient would have to be in bad shape already to need that.[/quote]

The ER would not. But faced with someone who “says” they are actively having chest pain, they will admit. once admitted, a stress test will be done. since the patient really do have cardiac issues, the stress test will of course be positive.

so the doctors now have a patient who continue to report “ongoing pain” along with a positive stress test. they’ll do the angiogram and find the multiple blockage in the coronaries, and guess what, onward to the cardiac bypass the patient was hoping for.

[ocrenter]

[quote=briansd1][quote=ocrenter]cardiac bypass or multiple stent placement.[/quote]

I didn’t know that the emergency room would actually arrange to do all of that to stabilize the patient.

The patient would have to be in bad shape already to need that.[/quote]

The ER would not. But faced with someone who “says” they are actively having chest pain, they will admit. once admitted, a stress test will be done. since the patient really do have cardiac issues, the stress test will of course be positive.

so the doctors now have a patient who continue to report “ongoing pain” along with a positive stress test. they’ll do the angiogram and find the multiple blockage in the coronaries, and guess what, onward to the cardiac bypass the patient was hoping for.

[ocrenter]

[quote=briansd1][quote=ocrenter]cardiac bypass or multiple stent placement.[/quote]

I didn’t know that the emergency room would actually arrange to do all of that to stabilize the patient.

The patient would have to be in bad shape already to need that.[/quote]

The ER would not. But faced with someone who “says” they are actively having chest pain, they will admit. once admitted, a stress test will be done. since the patient really do have cardiac issues, the stress test will of course be positive.

so the doctors now have a patient who continue to report “ongoing pain” along with a positive stress test. they’ll do the angiogram and find the multiple blockage in the coronaries, and guess what, onward to the cardiac bypass the patient was hoping for.

[ocrenter]

[quote=briansd1][quote=ocrenter]cardiac bypass or multiple stent placement.[/quote]

I didn’t know that the emergency room would actually arrange to do all of that to stabilize the patient.

The patient would have to be in bad shape already to need that.[/quote]

The ER would not. But faced with someone who “says” they are actively having chest pain, they will admit. once admitted, a stress test will be done. since the patient really do have cardiac issues, the stress test will of course be positive.

so the doctors now have a patient who continue to report “ongoing pain” along with a positive stress test. they’ll do the angiogram and find the multiple blockage in the coronaries, and guess what, onward to the cardiac bypass the patient was hoping for.

[ocrenter]

a relative showed me a hospital bill from Taiwan recently. he just had ear related surgery, was in the hospital for 3 days. everything added up was $3000. he himself had a $300 co-pay.

US per capita gdp is $45k. Taiwan is $30k.

So adjusted for US per capita GDP, logically, the same surgery and 3 day stay should logically be $4500 here.

but it probably would run $15k to $20k here realistically.

not that I’m for government interference and I am a Republican, but the main difference here is Taiwan has a single payer system.

[ocrenter]

a relative showed me a hospital bill from Taiwan recently. he just had ear related surgery, was in the hospital for 3 days. everything added up was $3000. he himself had a $300 co-pay.

US per capita gdp is $45k. Taiwan is $30k.

So adjusted for US per capita GDP, logically, the same surgery and 3 day stay should logically be $4500 here.

but it probably would run $15k to $20k here realistically.

not that I’m for government interference and I am a Republican, but the main difference here is Taiwan has a single payer system.

[ocrenter]

a relative showed me a hospital bill from Taiwan recently. he just had ear related surgery, was in the hospital for 3 days. everything added up was $3000. he himself had a $300 co-pay.

US per capita gdp is $45k. Taiwan is $30k.

So adjusted for US per capita GDP, logically, the same surgery and 3 day stay should logically be $4500 here.

but it probably would run $15k to $20k here realistically.

not that I’m for government interference and I am a Republican, but the main difference here is Taiwan has a single payer system.

[ocrenter]

a relative showed me a hospital bill from Taiwan recently. he just had ear related surgery, was in the hospital for 3 days. everything added up was $3000. he himself had a $300 co-pay.

US per capita gdp is $45k. Taiwan is $30k.

So adjusted for US per capita GDP, logically, the same surgery and 3 day stay should logically be $4500 here.

but it probably would run $15k to $20k here realistically.

not that I’m for government interference and I am a Republican, but the main difference here is Taiwan has a single payer system.

[ocrenter]

a relative showed me a hospital bill from Taiwan recently. he just had ear related surgery, was in the hospital for 3 days. everything added up was $3000. he himself had a $300 co-pay.

US per capita gdp is $45k. Taiwan is $30k.

So adjusted for US per capita GDP, logically, the same surgery and 3 day stay should logically be $4500 here.

but it probably would run $15k to $20k here realistically.

not that I’m for government interference and I am a Republican, but the main difference here is Taiwan has a single payer system.

[danielwis]

[quote=ocrenter]a relative showed me a hospital bill from Taiwan recently. he just had ear related surgery, was in the hospital for 3 days. everything added up was $3000. he himself had a $300 co-pay.

US per capita gdp is $45k. Taiwan is $30k.

So adjusted for US per capita GDP, logically, the same surgery and 3 day stay should logically be $4500 here.

but it probably would run $15k to $20k here realistically.

not that I’m for government interference and I am a Republican, but the main difference here is Taiwan has a single payer system.[/quote]

No cognitive dissonance here whatsoever….

[danielwis]

[quote=ocrenter]a relative showed me a hospital bill from Taiwan recently. he just had ear related surgery, was in the hospital for 3 days. everything added up was $3000. he himself had a $300 co-pay.

US per capita gdp is $45k. Taiwan is $30k.

So adjusted for US per capita GDP, logically, the same surgery and 3 day stay should logically be $4500 here.

but it probably would run $15k to $20k here realistically.

not that I’m for government interference and I am a Republican, but the main difference here is Taiwan has a single payer system.[/quote]

No cognitive dissonance here whatsoever….

[danielwis]

[quote=ocrenter]a relative showed me a hospital bill from Taiwan recently. he just had ear related surgery, was in the hospital for 3 days. everything added up was $3000. he himself had a $300 co-pay.

US per capita gdp is $45k. Taiwan is $30k.

So adjusted for US per capita GDP, logically, the same surgery and 3 day stay should logically be $4500 here.

but it probably would run $15k to $20k here realistically.

not that I’m for government interference and I am a Republican, but the main difference here is Taiwan has a single payer system.[/quote]

No cognitive dissonance here whatsoever….

[danielwis]

[quote=ocrenter]a relative showed me a hospital bill from Taiwan recently. he just had ear related surgery, was in the hospital for 3 days. everything added up was $3000. he himself had a $300 co-pay.

US per capita gdp is $45k. Taiwan is $30k.

So adjusted for US per capita GDP, logically, the same surgery and 3 day stay should logically be $4500 here.

but it probably would run $15k to $20k here realistically.

not that I’m for government interference and I am a Republican, but the main difference here is Taiwan has a single payer system.[/quote]

No cognitive dissonance here whatsoever….

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