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1. Set emergency room prices by law to the Medicare-approved amounts for everyone. No exceptions. There can never be a free market for emergency care.
2. Require short clear written presentation of all non-emergency medical costs before treatment. No exceptions. If patient does not sign, patient does not owe.
3. Require all medical providers to publish clear current annual price lists on the web for every medical billing code. No exceptions, no changes in the current calendar year. Let the people shop!
4. Require all medical providers to charge everyone the same price for the same treatment, regardless of whether they have insurance or not. No exceptions. It is not fair to charge some more than others for the exact same thing.
If all services and piece costs are listed, and yet the total is the same, who cares?
I would agree for some kind price control even though I am a capitalist pig.
Too many ER's make losses even with ridiculous prices, and would simply shut down with further losses due to price controls.
Emergency "care" is a free market for richer counties.
Strategist saysToo many ER's make losses even with ridiculous prices, and would simply shut down with further losses due to price controls.
Is there a shortage of emergency rooms?
Malpractice reform:
You cannot sue if you rely on tax payer dollars.
Keep it simple.
Malpractice reform:
You cannot sue if you rely on tax payer dollars.
Patrick saysStrategist saysToo many ER's make losses even with ridiculous prices, and would simply shut down with further losses due to price controls.
Is there a shortage of emergency rooms?
I have read about Trauma centers and emergency rooms shutting down due to losses.
I'm quite sure this happens in high crime neighborhoods where very few have health insurance.
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I really don't think anyone knows how to solve the ridiculous health costs that is unique to America. Something is fucked up, and fucked up bad.
I do know corrupt politicians, corrupt health care providers, and corrupt drug manufacturers are all in on this.
Fucking scumbags.
Too many ER's make losses even with ridiculous prices, and would simply shut down with further losses due to price controls.
Strategist saysToo many ER's make losses even with ridiculous prices, and would simply shut down with further losses due to price controls.
ER's take losses because they are required to treat everyone, no matter if they have insurance or can pay. Eventually someone has to pay those costs or they get passed on the people who can actually pay.
..."The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) is a federal law that requires anyone coming to an emergency department to be stabilized and treated, regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay, but since its enactment in 1986 has remained an unfunded mandate.
The burden of uncompensated care is growing, closing many emergency departments, decreasing resources for everyone and threatening the ability of emergency departments to care for all patients. "
How can I move this conversation to my new http://fixhealthcare.us/ with the least trouble for you all?
So what's the solution?
Why can't I drive into the gas station and get free gas, why can't I go to a car dealer an get a free car, why can't I go into a restaurant and get a free 7 course meal? So, why should ER treatment be free?
Those examples are not life threatening.
is a federal law that requires anyone coming to an emergency department to be stabilized and treated,
That is detrimental to good health not a large tax but a tax.
BlueSardine saysThose examples are not life threatening.
Not every free treatment at the ER is life threatening.
Aren't certain people taxed enough now? How do you tax the 47% who are paying federal taxes now?
Or, do we do what the Libbies want and tax the 1%ers 150% of their income and redistribute their wealth to pay for this?
Granted all people who use the ER are not in life threatening situations.
An "emergency" by definition is life threatening.
Granted all people who use the ER are not in life threatening situations.
I couldn't believe what I saw. 90% of the people there had ZERO business being in an ER. And the nurses and front desk people knew it too. There was literally about 30 people sitting in the waiting room. Mind you this for sure wasn't families waiting on someone. These were people there waiting to get in for some "ailment."
Tax the things that put people into the ER.
The people that consume or participate in such things are the ones paying the tax.
An "emergency" by definition is life threatening.
Granted all people who use the ER are not in life threatening situations.
• Medicaid or Children's Health Insurance Program: 35 percent
One more point you might make (and this happened to me). It should be the responsibility of the service provider (ie surgery center) to ensure that any additional doctors required are also covered under the customer's insurance. I had some work done on my knee. I got clearance from my insurance validating the doctor was in network, the surgery center costs would be covered, the outpatient care and PT was covered in an approved facility, etc... What I didn't know was that the anesthesiologist (who I didn't know, and came in last minute) was not covered by my insurance.
They assured him it did. But, after he woke up they said they had to call in a last-minute, out-of-network anesthesiologist
It's only about my four proposals that are the minimum necessary for US healthcare to recover from its terminal decline:
1. Set emergency room prices by law to exactly some annually fixed government-approved amounts. No exceptions. There can never be a free market for emergency care.
2. Require short clear written presentation of all non-emergency medical costs before treatment. No exceptions. If patient does not sign, patient does not owe. If patient does sign, it's a legally binding contract.
3. Require all medical providers to publish clear and complete current annual price lists on the web for every medical billing code. No exceptions, no changes in the current calendar year. Let the people shop!
4. Require each medical provider to charge its own published prices to every patient equally, regardless of whether the patient has insurance or not. No exceptions. It is not fair for a provider charge some patients more than others for the exact same thing. I do not mean that different providers should have to charge the same as each other, only that any one provider should charge the same price to all of its patients for the same service. No more of "we don't like people like you, so our price is higher for your kind".
Please write your Congressman and propose these changes. Please call them the "fixhealthcare.us" changes.
Please check it out, comment, donate if you can. I'm going to put in all US Congressmen and get to work on lobbying them, and on opposing their re-election if they oppose this simple fair rules.