I have been well aware of this mess having worked in home heath as an RN after working in the hospital, rehab facilities and cardiac rehab and how billing works. I also have been on the receiving end of bad billing and having to fight to get it corrected. We are being ripped off big time. Something really has to change along with the current political mess.
I hear you, Teri. I worked in healthcare in various capacities since 1981 until I semi-retired myself a few yrs. ago. From small private practices, to consultants, management companies to corporate buy-outs. What a cluster€#¥£!!!!! Places have changed their names 6 times at least since I started. It’s nuts!
No way is it sustainable. I’m 65 now and so upset to know that my children and grandchildren will most likely be dealing with this. I can give them a heads-up, encourage them to prepare and support their best responses as long as I’m around, but that’s probably the most I can really do. Breaks my heart.
I saw all those horrid things also. I had just left an HCA job when the feds came in and they had to break up that organization and Rick Scott walked away with the golden parachute. Later he became governor of Florida and now he is one of our senators. The criminality here in Florida with the current governor and red legislature, it will be interesting when the people loose healthcare…
It was awful. I actually lost all of my whatever-my-retirement-$-is-called due to issues with the stock, where all of it was. Totally screwed.
That was years ago and I’m fine, just not nearly as fine as I could’ve been. I SO loved my work - it was hurtful, but I ended up in patient care as a contractor and I was much happier.
I remember that time. A lot of nurses did that and some became travel nurses. We had nurses in the hospitals I worked in from England, Canada and the Philippines. The ones from Canada did not start IVs as the MD residents did those as part of their training. They put these nurses on the cardiac floor where all patients had to have a reseal in case they had an emergency needing an IV. So we of course had to cover their patients.
Absolutely 💯 our Healthcare (deathcare) system is not sustainable. It's crazy skewed against insurees and toward insurers. Since the shutdown, I've been telling the redhat nabobs to extend ACA, because of expediency, but we need a new plan such as single payer system similar to Medicare for all. I'm not delusional, as my nabobs lack any structural bones, see Todd Young in dictionary under amoeba, but if I don't demand what's needed, who will?
Great article! I have been a fan of universal healthcare literally for decades. The current system is completely unsustainable. All of the things that you outlined in your article are the absolute truth. We pay more, and get less, than most of the rest of the world. And yes, I completely agree that there are tons of greedy people making huge amounts of money from the sickness of others. I agree that we don’t have a healthcare system at all. What we have is a sick care system. The system makes tons of money from sick patients, therefore it doesn’t want healthy people. The system can’t make money from healthy people. That’s the bottom line. Pharma wants as many people as possible to be on one or more drugs for the rest of their lives. Talk about a pathetic system. I eagerly look forward to the arrival of universal healthcare. I will do everything possible to support such a system, when when the discussion becomes a little more common.
I live in Spain, where I have had residency for seven years. I can tell you the system works very well. It is not in the hands of corporations.
Doctors here are excellent
When I moved here, I was required to buy private insurance, which seemed fair enough. After all, I am a guest here, and they don’t want people showing up just to take advantage of free medical care. That cost me about $150 a month, more than fair. Once I became a legal resident, I also received a card for the public system. I now have both.
I never have a moment’s fear of becoming medically bankrupt. It’s a tremendous security. I recently had surgery on the Private system because it’s less of a wait. Tomorrow morning I will go for a huge battery of post-op lab tests, which will cost me nothing, so I can afford to get them and monitor my health preventively.
Same here in Portugal. My husband and I left the US over healthcare costs, and we receive great care here on the private system. I just had surgery, and it went quite well! Just like you, we pay for private insurance, and although we could use the public system, I don't think that's reasonable since we never paid in. Still, the systems support each other, so private could refer us to public for certain services if needed.
This is an article from a guest writer that Meidas+ published in July, much along the same lines as your thinking. Great minds think alike, of course.
I save every article I come across that I know will become relevant again so that I can share it later. I've been doing this for years. What goes around does in fact come around.
Thank you Jack. Is it me or are we at the downside of the optimization/efficiency curve. As we saw during the Pandemic’s supply chain issues the singular focus on the shareholder is not producing results suitable for other stakeholders. We’ve squeezed the lemon so hard there’s no proverbial juice left. I haven’t read any academic research to support my gut but your discussion mirrors my feelings. If you have an interest I’d love to read your thoughts on the broader issue popularized by Milton Friedman - shareholders first & foremost.
Well done! I realized back when Hilary Clinton was First Lady trying to push through universal healthcare that it was a good idea. How? Some of us did a “follow the money” exercise, and I read an article in Fortune that three of the five best investments during a recession (it was 1998) were private health insurance companies, drug makers, and medical device makers. During the 9/11 shutdown, the retained earning for the *entire* airline industry went negative—only aircraft manufacturers and some unions had made money. Oh, and who profited from the Alaskan gold rush? Only the Seattle-based outfitters. In a market for an essential service, only the suppliers to that market profit, to your point.
I have been well aware of this mess having worked in home heath as an RN after working in the hospital, rehab facilities and cardiac rehab and how billing works. I also have been on the receiving end of bad billing and having to fight to get it corrected. We are being ripped off big time. Something really has to change along with the current political mess.
I hear you, Teri. I worked in healthcare in various capacities since 1981 until I semi-retired myself a few yrs. ago. From small private practices, to consultants, management companies to corporate buy-outs. What a cluster€#¥£!!!!! Places have changed their names 6 times at least since I started. It’s nuts!
No way is it sustainable. I’m 65 now and so upset to know that my children and grandchildren will most likely be dealing with this. I can give them a heads-up, encourage them to prepare and support their best responses as long as I’m around, but that’s probably the most I can really do. Breaks my heart.
Makes me furious.
I saw all those horrid things also. I had just left an HCA job when the feds came in and they had to break up that organization and Rick Scott walked away with the golden parachute. Later he became governor of Florida and now he is one of our senators. The criminality here in Florida with the current governor and red legislature, it will be interesting when the people loose healthcare…
It was awful. I actually lost all of my whatever-my-retirement-$-is-called due to issues with the stock, where all of it was. Totally screwed.
That was years ago and I’m fine, just not nearly as fine as I could’ve been. I SO loved my work - it was hurtful, but I ended up in patient care as a contractor and I was much happier.
I remember that time. A lot of nurses did that and some became travel nurses. We had nurses in the hospitals I worked in from England, Canada and the Philippines. The ones from Canada did not start IVs as the MD residents did those as part of their training. They put these nurses on the cardiac floor where all patients had to have a reseal in case they had an emergency needing an IV. So we of course had to cover their patients.
Absolutely 💯 our Healthcare (deathcare) system is not sustainable. It's crazy skewed against insurees and toward insurers. Since the shutdown, I've been telling the redhat nabobs to extend ACA, because of expediency, but we need a new plan such as single payer system similar to Medicare for all. I'm not delusional, as my nabobs lack any structural bones, see Todd Young in dictionary under amoeba, but if I don't demand what's needed, who will?
Great article! I have been a fan of universal healthcare literally for decades. The current system is completely unsustainable. All of the things that you outlined in your article are the absolute truth. We pay more, and get less, than most of the rest of the world. And yes, I completely agree that there are tons of greedy people making huge amounts of money from the sickness of others. I agree that we don’t have a healthcare system at all. What we have is a sick care system. The system makes tons of money from sick patients, therefore it doesn’t want healthy people. The system can’t make money from healthy people. That’s the bottom line. Pharma wants as many people as possible to be on one or more drugs for the rest of their lives. Talk about a pathetic system. I eagerly look forward to the arrival of universal healthcare. I will do everything possible to support such a system, when when the discussion becomes a little more common.
Again you are ahead of the curve Jack! I hope you get tons of new subscribers with this article!
I live in Spain, where I have had residency for seven years. I can tell you the system works very well. It is not in the hands of corporations.
Doctors here are excellent
When I moved here, I was required to buy private insurance, which seemed fair enough. After all, I am a guest here, and they don’t want people showing up just to take advantage of free medical care. That cost me about $150 a month, more than fair. Once I became a legal resident, I also received a card for the public system. I now have both.
I never have a moment’s fear of becoming medically bankrupt. It’s a tremendous security. I recently had surgery on the Private system because it’s less of a wait. Tomorrow morning I will go for a huge battery of post-op lab tests, which will cost me nothing, so I can afford to get them and monitor my health preventively.
Same here in Portugal. My husband and I left the US over healthcare costs, and we receive great care here on the private system. I just had surgery, and it went quite well! Just like you, we pay for private insurance, and although we could use the public system, I don't think that's reasonable since we never paid in. Still, the systems support each other, so private could refer us to public for certain services if needed.
This is an article from a guest writer that Meidas+ published in July, much along the same lines as your thinking. Great minds think alike, of course.
I save every article I come across that I know will become relevant again so that I can share it later. I've been doing this for years. What goes around does in fact come around.
https://www.meidasplus.com/p/trump-and-gop-will-finally-bring?utm_campaign=posts-open-in-app&triedRedirect=true
Thank you Jack. Is it me or are we at the downside of the optimization/efficiency curve. As we saw during the Pandemic’s supply chain issues the singular focus on the shareholder is not producing results suitable for other stakeholders. We’ve squeezed the lemon so hard there’s no proverbial juice left. I haven’t read any academic research to support my gut but your discussion mirrors my feelings. If you have an interest I’d love to read your thoughts on the broader issue popularized by Milton Friedman - shareholders first & foremost.
Jack, I’m a retired MD. You are spot on. Bravo.
Well done! I realized back when Hilary Clinton was First Lady trying to push through universal healthcare that it was a good idea. How? Some of us did a “follow the money” exercise, and I read an article in Fortune that three of the five best investments during a recession (it was 1998) were private health insurance companies, drug makers, and medical device makers. During the 9/11 shutdown, the retained earning for the *entire* airline industry went negative—only aircraft manufacturers and some unions had made money. Oh, and who profited from the Alaskan gold rush? Only the Seattle-based outfitters. In a market for an essential service, only the suppliers to that market profit, to your point.