DAN Insurance non-diving medical "Accident"

[uncfnp]

Government, lawsuits, too many people with their fingers in the pot, no real competition as pricing is shielded until the end where you get a grand surprise (try asking a dr how much will this cost, LOL), and just plain greed. That about sums it up.

The independent general practitioner or “family doctor” will soon be a thing of the past. Trust me. It takes big corporations to wring the moneys from the insurance companies and government. It’s one of the reason that all the independent medical groups are being bought up by the Medical Corporations. And then they run the show and not the doctor you see. We do well at our small Urgent Care because of our relative high volume and lowish overhead. But there are a number of things that we actually lose money on. We still try and offer those services when we can and make up the difference in other ways when possible.

One reason it is so hard to get a straight answer on cost is there are so many variables. What is our charge, what is the insurance and what will they cover and what will we right off, what extras will there be (labs/meds, etc)? And I really feel for the guys with no insurance. They often get slammed with the full charges since they have no big brother barginning for them.

Take a rocephin antibiotic injection. It costs us about 30 dollars. We charge 100 dollars. Insurance pays 5. We had to stop offering Bicillin injections because insurance would basically pay nothing.

 

[BlueTrin]

The independent general practitioner or “family doctor” will soon be a thing of the past. Trust me. It takes big corporations to wring the moneys from the insurance companies and government. It’s one of the reason that all the independent medical groups are being bought up by the Medical Corporations. We do well at our small Urgent Care because of our relative high volume and lowish overhead. But there are a number of things that we actually lose money on.

One reason it is so hard to get a straight answer on cost is there are so many variables. What is our charge, what is the insurance and what will they cover and what will we right off, what extras will there be (labs/meds, etc)? And I really feel for the guys with no insurance. They often get slammed with the full charges since they have no big brother barginning for them.

Take a rocephin antibiotic injection. It costs us about 30 dollars. We charge 100 dollars. Insurance pays 5. We had to stop offering Bicillin injections because insurance would basically pay nothing.

But why does it cost 100 dolls ? I don’t think we pay nearly as much in Europe ?

 

[uncfnp]

But why does it cost 100 dolls ? I don’t think we pay nearly as much in Europe ?

I don’t have the business sense to answer this but you have to factor in our cost, then the cost of having the staff to give the medication. Then the cost of tying up one of our rooms for the additional time its takes for you to sit out the wait period to watch for a reaction. And of course the cost of stocking a crash cart in case things do go south and all the liability costs that go with that possibility.

 

[aviator8]

The independent general practitioner or “family doctor” will soon be a thing of the past. Trust me. It takes big corporations to wring the moneys from the insurance companies and government. It’s one of the reason that all the independent medical groups are being bought up by the Medical Corporations. And then they run the show and not the doctor you see. We do well at our small Urgent Care because of our relative high volume and lowish overhead. But there are a number of things that we actually lose money on. We still try and offer those services when we can and make up the difference in other ways when possible.

One reason it is so hard to get a straight answer on cost is there are so many variables. What is our charge, what is the insurance and what will they cover and what will we right off, what extras will there be (labs/meds, etc)? And I really feel for the guys with no insurance. They often get slammed with the full charges since they have no big brother barginning for them.

Take a rocephin antibiotic injection. It costs us about 30 dollars. We charge 100 dollars. Insurance pays 5. We had to stop offering Bicillin injections because insurance would basically pay nothing.

I hear ya. I don't know the answer to fix it but for me the more direct the service can be the cheaper it gets. Anything that involves government drives cost up. Any brokers, insurance agents etc drive cost up. In Europe and elsewhere overseas it is cheaper. You can walk in, get a diagnosis and a treatment plan. Ask the cost, the office tells you and generally speaking it is reasonable (Very cheap when compared to US prices) and you go about getting what you need.

 

[Degenerate]

Why is healthcare so expensive in the US ?

When reading threads like these I don't feel too bad about living in one of the countries that has the highest income taxes in the world.
I don't even need an insurance to cover the costs if anything would happen to me while diving here, because any treatment would be free.

 

[BlueTrin]

When reading threads like these I don't feel too bad about living in one of the countries that has the highest income taxes in the world.
I don't even need an insurance to cover the costs if anything would happen to me while diving here, because any treatment would be free.

Are you Scandinavian ?

 

[Degenerate]

Are you Scandinavian ?

Yep, Sweden.

 

[yle]

"Injury" and "Illness" are pretty well defined in the EFR course and are distinctive. I'm pretty sure the flu is considered an "illness". Which would preclude it from being an "injury."

Or as Jim said in one of the first replies to this thread: flu is not an injury.

 

[yle]

Why is healthcare so expensive in the US ?

The reasons are pretty complex, but a lot of it has to do with high administrative costs (part of which is due to our litigious society) and high R&D costs. If we didn't sue as much as we do, and we didn't invest in R&D and tech as much as we do, we'd spend a lot less on healthcare.

Oh, and Americans overall, compared to other comparable societies, lead relatively unhealthy lifestyles... but want the full benefit of everything the R&D and tech we develop have to offer.

That's the simple answer to your question... and why our healthcare system is 17% of our economy (while it is only 8 to 11% of the economy in other developed nations.)

 

[yle]

Government, lawsuits, too many people with their fingers in the pot, no real competition as pricing is shielded until the end where you get a grand surprise (try asking a dr how much will this cost, LOL), and just plain greed. That about sums it up.

Yes... this too. I think if you combine this with my answer in the post immediately above, you get a more complete answer to the question. I left out the "just plain greed" part... but that certainly is part of the mix.