Universal Health Care

[Baron1710]

Originally Posted by RandyWayne

With 14 extra pair of hands, she could pick far more than the woman with only 6 kids.

What no child labor laws? Evil OT God, the Democrats would toss him out on his ear...oh wait they already did.

[ForeverBlessed]

Originally Posted by Aquila

I think it's wonderful when doctors write off care as charity but I was told that you can only write off so much. Larger health care providers such as hospitals often have to write off what they can, but pass what they can't write off (slow pays and non-pays) down to us in the cost of health care. That increase in cost causes insurance agencies to have to increase premiums...and it continues to snowball.

I know that nearly all doctors will see a patient without their ability to pay. But here's my issue...those who don't pay or can't pay or are very slow pays are driving the cost up for me and my family who DO pay. Why should I have to carry the burden of people who pay nothing at all? And we're not talking the lower income bracket, they already have programs to help most of them. We're talking about middle class working Americans who simply don't have insurance because their employer doesn't provide it or because they can't afford it. In a Universal Health Insurance program EVERYONE, especially these working Americans, would pay SOMETHING into the system toward their own care.

I understand what you are saying, but I just do not care for the thought of universal healthcare. If you only knew the headache we go through with Medicaid.. the rules, the hoops we jump through now that it is managed care. It is a nightmare at times... so just how would another federally funded healthcare be any different.

Medicare is expensive to fund... like I said, if the universal healthcare would pay like Medicare, it wouldn't be so bad... Medicare has the $135 deductible, pays at 80%... but if you only knew how many elderly people that do not pay their 20% or their deductible. We give charity to a lot of medicare patients.

We do not have a cap on charity write offs.... they would rather give charity than write off to bad debt. (and so would the hospitals) We are owned by two major hospitals.... we are for profit but do not make a profit.... we are bailed out monthly by the two hospitals.

There are a lot of people out there, that do not want to pay anything...and I mean anything when they see the doctor. Nothing is for free...and it is costing someone somewhere... copay or something is always going to be due..and no one wants to pay. If we had universal healthcare, this attitude that somebody owes me everything will just continue. Why work for anything if it is given freely on the backs of tax paying citizens.

Unfortunately the majority of bad debt patients go to bad debt for COPAYS and DEDUCTIBLES...they are insured people. Self pays I work with, or I give charity...and we follow federal poverty guidelines... if you apply you will get some type of assistance... at least 20% even if you make a decent wage. I have only denied one charity application in the five years I've been doing it... she had 47K in the savings. We also give all self pays a 20% discount if they pay at the time of service.

I realize something needs to give in healthcare, but not so sure govt ran healthcare is the answer.

[ForeverBlessed]

I just thought of something...

We have a local factory that partnered with our local hospital and our Network of Physicians. This year, they offered their employees something new.

It is an open clinic that is staffed 7 days a week by rotating staff of our physicians. They are open just like a med check... the hospital labs work hand in hand with this...and all basic routine medicine and care is done through this clinic.

They offer this along with their healthcare package to employees. They have figured out that it costs them less to suppliment the healthcare with an open clinic for their employees. They have less claims, the cost of their insurance stays down.

I have been doing my best since this opened to convince our Network to open a clinic for self pay patients who would normally be written off to charity. If someone has the means to pay a $20 copay, then collect what they can at the time of service and just operate a clinic. I believe it could be done and offer a great service to our community. People would be healthier, managing illnesses that need monitoring and preventing trips to the ER for minor issues. We've gone over the idea several times.... I offered to manage the office.. lol

I think these clinics... even federally funded clinics for self pay or a clinic w/sliding scales would be better than huge money sucking mess like managed healthcare for everyone.