JukEboX
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Post by JukEboX on Oct 16, 2017 8:42:09 GMT -6
Should we move Weinstein and related conversation to a separate thread? I don't want to trigger anyone Seconded!
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Post by oreobitsy on Oct 16, 2017 8:46:00 GMT -6
This is a good read from Vox about health care prices: www.vox.com/platform/amp/policy-and-politics/2017/10/16/16357790/health-care-prices-problemWe've had a lot of medical expenses/bills in the two years that we have done treatment for my child's cancer. It always amazes me to see the itemized prices for simple medical supplies. (And yes, I only see that after asking for the complete billing history for our account. It's not transparent at all.) It is a really frustrating element to the health care system. I wish politicans could spend time fixing this type of issue rather than having to expend energy into keeping the Affordable Care Act (now Trumpcare) functional.
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Post by oreobitsy on Oct 16, 2017 8:47:12 GMT -6
WaPo has a front and center headline this morning titled: Inside the Adult Daycare Center. This, ladies and gents, refers to the WH and our president. Great times we live in. I read that this morning! I have to admit, the headline drew me in so I think I might be part of the problem.
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dc2london
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Post by dc2london on Oct 16, 2017 8:56:32 GMT -6
Reminder Pence is still horrible: Meanwhile, at CPAC, Trump told the crowd that "Nobody is a bigger champion of Christian values" than him
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Minerva
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Post by Minerva on Oct 16, 2017 8:56:54 GMT -6
Reminder Pence is still horrible: 😲😡
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dc2london
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Post by dc2london on Oct 16, 2017 8:58:18 GMT -6
This is a good read from Vox about health care prices: www.vox.com/platform/amp/policy-and-politics/2017/10/16/16357790/health-care-prices-problemWe've had a lot of medical expenses/bills in the two years that we have done treatment for my child's cancer. It always amazes me to see the itemized prices for simple medical supplies. (And yes, I only see that after asking for the complete billing history for our account. It's not transparent at all.) It is a really frustrating element to the health care system. I wish politicans could spend time fixing this type of issue rather than having to expend energy into keeping the Affordable Care Act (now Trumpcare) functional. I'm so sorry that you're being smacked with large medical expenses on top of coping with your child's cancer. I was blown away the day I got a bill for my Rhogam injection and they billed my insurance company $60 for an alcohol swab and a bandaid.
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joelies
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Post by joelies on Oct 16, 2017 8:58:59 GMT -6
Reminder Pence is still horrible: Meanwhile, at CPAC, Trump told the crowd that "Nobody is a bigger champion of Christian values" than him Whatever. They are supposedly among Trump's most ardent supporters at this point, screw the idea of them having any ideal of what actual Christian values are.
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Post by Uncaripswife on Oct 16, 2017 9:05:11 GMT -6
Reminder Pence is still horrible: JFC
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mb3
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Post by mb3 on Oct 16, 2017 9:15:57 GMT -6
This is a good read from Vox about health care prices: www.vox.com/platform/amp/policy-and-politics/2017/10/16/16357790/health-care-prices-problemWe've had a lot of medical expenses/bills in the two years that we have done treatment for my child's cancer. It always amazes me to see the itemized prices for simple medical supplies. (And yes, I only see that after asking for the complete billing history for our account. It's not transparent at all.) It is a really frustrating element to the health care system. I wish politicans could spend time fixing this type of issue rather than having to expend energy into keeping the Affordable Care Act (now Trumpcare) functional. I'm so sorry that you're being smacked with large medical expenses on top of coping with your child's cancer. I was blown away the day I got a bill for my Rhogam injection and they billed my insurance company $60 for an alcohol swab and a bandaid. I might be stuck in a box but regarding charges for medical supplies: notice what's not on your bill: nursing care, pharmacy care, phlebotomy, blood bank processing, etc. Physicians bill separately for the care they provide, everyone else who takes care of you doesnt and they get lumped in under supplies. That $60, to use dc2london 's specific example, covers all of that. It covers the person from the blood bank double checking your RH factor and confirming you need Rhogam. It covers the delivery person bringing it from the blood bank to your OB's office/the pharmacy tech bringing it to your hospital floor. It covers the nurse administering it. When you see medications, where everyone complains about how much a Tylenol costs in the hospital, that covers the people that are double checking that the Tylenol is safe for you to take, that it doesn't interfere with other medications you might be taking. Sure you could petition for the charges to be listed differently but the only way it's going to happen is if you can see a separate charge listed for your nursing care, etc. And that's never going to happen because the American Medical Association is too powerful of a lobby and they don't want nurses listed as separate professionals. The bottom line won't change, just how it's broken down or billed. I don't personally think that's the battle to be fighting when people are losing health insurance. /off soapbox
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dc2london
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Post by dc2london on Oct 16, 2017 9:21:39 GMT -6
mb3,I didn't know that. Thanks for the explanation!
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hawkward
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Loss, Infertility
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Post by hawkward on Oct 16, 2017 9:28:30 GMT -6
Bowe Bergdahl has pled guilty to two charges. Which good. This story is pretty local so it was in the news almost every day he was in captivity. The good is because he put so many people in danger, from his unit to the men who had to rescue him. It was a selfish act on his part. I’ve been following him closely. I hope he gets an easy sentence/good deal. He shouldn’t have even been there in the first place. He failed his coworkers, but the military failed him first.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2017 9:46:13 GMT -6
So, I was watching SNL yesterday and my daughter walked through the room while the Kellywise/IT spoof was on. She ended up having nightmares about Kellyanne Conway biting off Anderson Cooper's arm last night.
I had to explain that it was supposed to be a joke about a movie and it wasn't real. Then this morning I showed her some other Kate McKinnon characters so she would realize it was all pretend.
But it is kind of amusing that my kid had a nightmare featuring Kellyanne Conway.
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Post by shadesofgold on Oct 16, 2017 9:55:00 GMT -6
I'm so sorry that you're being smacked with large medical expenses on top of coping with your child's cancer. I was blown away the day I got a bill for my Rhogam injection and they billed my insurance company $60 for an alcohol swab and a bandaid. I might be stuck in a box but regarding charges for medical supplies: notice what's not on your bill: nursing care, pharmacy care, phlebotomy, blood bank processing, etc. Physicians bill separately for the care they provide, everyone else who takes care of you doesnt and they get lumped in under supplies. That $60, to use dc2london 's specific example, covers all of that. It covers the person from the blood bank double checking your RH factor and confirming you need Rhogam. It covers the delivery person bringing it from the blood bank to your OB's office/the pharmacy tech bringing it to your hospital floor. It covers the nurse administering it. When you see medications, where everyone complains about how much a Tylenol costs in the hospital, that covers the people that are double checking that the Tylenol is safe for you to take, that it doesn't interfere with other medications you might be taking. Sure you could petition for the charges to be listed differently but the only way it's going to happen is if you can see a separate charge listed for your nursing care, etc. And that's never going to happen because the American Medical Association is too powerful of a lobby and they don't want nurses listed as separate professionals. The bottom line won't change, just how it's broken down or billed. I don't personally think that's the battle to be fighting when people are losing health insurance. /off soapbox This is all totally true, but the problem is that chargemasters are super secret "proprietary" information negotiated individually by facilities, so nobody can know in advance what a service or good will cost and why. The method of billing makes sense IF it is transparent, predictable and logical.
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Minerva
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Post by Minerva on Oct 16, 2017 9:55:12 GMT -6
We were canvassed by Ralph Northam supporters this weekend. DD loves Ralph so much that she tried to literally eat him. I managed to get her to pose for a pic instead. ❤️
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Post by shadesofgold on Oct 16, 2017 9:57:36 GMT -6
Bowe Bergdahl has pled guilty to two charges. Which good. This story is pretty local so it was in the news almost every day he was in captivity. The good is because he put so many people in danger, from his unit to the men who had to rescue him. It was a selfish act on his part. I’ve been following him closely. I hope he gets an easy sentence/good deal. He shouldn’t have even been there in the first place. He failed his coworkers, but the military failed him first. I wish that season of Serial had been better because I came out of it with no feelings whatsoever about him. Whereas I can go on for hours about Adnan and Jay. #sidebar
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Post by shadesofgold on Oct 16, 2017 9:58:31 GMT -6
dc2london what is the twitter romance between Trumpers and Bernies to which you referred? I'm not seeing this on my feed. Maybe I don't even want to know.
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Post by cakewench on Oct 16, 2017 10:01:40 GMT -6
FFS. Didn't some state within the last two years or so spend MILLIONS on drug testing for welfare recipients and found NOTHING? WTF is it with these people? I don't even know what to say anymore.
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hawkward
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Post by hawkward on Oct 16, 2017 10:06:57 GMT -6
I’ve been following him closely. I hope he gets an easy sentence/good deal. He shouldn’t have even been there in the first place. He failed his coworkers, but the military failed him first. I wish that season of Serial had been better because I came out of it with no feelings whatsoever about him. Whereas I can go on for hours about Adnan and Jay. #sidebar I agree but I also think he’s just not a very sympathetic “character.” It’s hard to like him.
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mb3
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Post by mb3 on Oct 16, 2017 10:07:28 GMT -6
shadesofgold what do you mean no one can know in advance what something will cost? I've always been able to call my insurance company and ask not only the cost but what portion will be my responsibility. Yes, the rates are negotiated between health care providers and insurance. I'm not arguing that some reform is needed- and I'd favor single payer- but my point was more on why "cheap" medications and supplies are not cheap at all in the hospital.
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Post by oreobitsy on Oct 16, 2017 10:12:16 GMT -6
mb3 You explained that really well. I have a family member who is a doctor and they tried to explain that their expertise gets lumped into the charges. Your explanation is a more thought-out argument for that, and it makes sense. I think it's hard as a consumer to see all the background work that justifies the expense. In my experience, even a cash payment with no insurance was provided a discount (35% off a $600 lab bill). I know insurance also has adjustments made, so it's hard for me to see the value if the bill always reflects some sort of discount. Basically it feels a little like how Gap always has 40% sales every month. I know they have those sales all the time so I wait to buy clothes until the sale. I feel like they must not value their quality enough to ask for full price on a long-term basis, so I assume the sale price is the actual value. I know that has a lot of holes in it if you relate it to healthcare costs. Hopefully you guys can help me be more understanding and less grumpy about it. Now, all that said, my family member doctor has explained that a lot of people simply don't pay their medical bills and let their credit suffer. I have a feeling that ties into the need for higher costs.
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jkjacq
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Post by jkjacq on Oct 16, 2017 10:13:13 GMT -6
I’ve been following him closely. I hope he gets an easy sentence/good deal. He shouldn’t have even been there in the first place. He failed his coworkers, but the military failed him first. I wish that season of Serial had been better because I came out of it with no feelings whatsoever about him. Whereas I can go on for hours about Adnan and Jay. #sidebar I had to quit listening to it as well. But like I said it was on the news all the time here. And I saw it on our local station (the plea) before it went on CNN etc. They would interview his family all the time.
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Post by oreobitsy on Oct 16, 2017 10:13:39 GMT -6
Minerva those little toes in your picture are so perfect. Love it!
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Post by shadesofgold on Oct 16, 2017 10:16:12 GMT -6
shadesofgold what do you mean no one can know in advance what something will cost? I've always been able to call my insurance company and ask not only the cost but what portion will be my responsibility. Yes, the rates are negotiated between health care providers and insurance. I'm not arguing that some reform is needed- and I'd favor single payer- but my point was more on why "cheap" medications and supplies are not cheap at all in the hospital. I have never been able to get a price up front, from my insurance company or my health system and I ask almost every single time because I have a particular bee in my bonnet about it. In fact, I think most people have this experience. Steven Brill wrote a pretty famous Time article about it: Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us ("How outrageous pricing and egregious profits are destroying our health care") edit: fixing link
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dc2london
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Post by dc2london on Oct 16, 2017 10:17:21 GMT -6
dc2london what is the twitter romance between Trumpers and Bernies to which you referred? I'm not seeing this on my feed. Maybe I don't even want to know. They were both attacking Hillary bc of a Weinstein donation to the Clinton Foundation
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Post by shadesofgold on Oct 16, 2017 10:19:32 GMT -6
dc2london what is the twitter romance between Trumpers and Bernies to which you referred? I'm not seeing this on my feed. Maybe I don't even want to know. They were both attacking Hillary bc of a Weinstein donation to the Clinton Foundation Ahh, gotcha. So, same ol' shit. good.
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Post by greykitty on Oct 16, 2017 10:21:15 GMT -6
Now, all that said, my family member doctor has explained that a lot of people simply don't pay their medical bills and let their credit suffer. I have a feeling that ties into the need for higher costs. I've heard the same thing - I've also heard one reason why many health care providers/hospitals like my employer's self insured plan is they know they'll get paid timely, even if the discounted rate I see on my EOB seems ludicrously small compared to the billed rate. But at least it's money they can pretty much count on. A lot of medical providers simply never get paid, or get only pennies on the dollar.
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pesto
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Post by pesto on Oct 16, 2017 10:28:03 GMT -6
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mb3
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Post by mb3 on Oct 16, 2017 10:30:37 GMT -6
shadesofgold what do you mean no one can know in advance what something will cost? I've always been able to call my insurance company and ask not only the cost but what portion will be my responsibility. Yes, the rates are negotiated between health care providers and insurance. I'm not arguing that some reform is needed- and I'd favor single payer- but my point was more on why "cheap" medications and supplies are not cheap at all in the hospital. I have never been able to get a price up front, from my insurance company or my health system and I ask almost every single time because I have a particular bee in my bonnet about it. In fact, I think most people have this experience. Steven Brill wrote a pretty famous Time article about it: Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us ("How outrageous pricing and egregious profits are destroying our health care") edit: fixing link I haven't had that experience- and I've called a lot. I will concede that I do have a better idea of how to approach this than the average patient though, and this would be something where having ICD10 codes more clearly available to patients would also be very beneficial.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2017 10:31:46 GMT -6
dc2london what is the twitter romance between Trumpers and Bernies to which you referred? I'm not seeing this on my feed. Maybe I don't even want to know. They were both attacking Hillary bc of a Weinstein donation to the Clinton Foundation
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mb3
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Post by mb3 on Oct 16, 2017 10:35:49 GMT -6
oreobitsy I'm glad the explanation helped and I completely understand where you're coming from. Unless you are behind the scenes it's impossible to fathom all the people that are behind your health care and contribute to the costs. And I wish health care were more accessible and that people didn't have to make health decisions based on their finances vs what would be in their best interest. Our system is far from perfect, but if I can help explain how some of it works as it does- and which parts really need targeting for reform, I'm happy to do so and help concentrate efforts where it will really matter.
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