2024 Health Insurance

[dennishoddy]

I can't really speak to Medicare. I think most people in this area are pretty happy with the VA. But in bigger markets, with more people, there are huge problems. VA has been thru numerous scandals in the last several years than just about any other non-law enforcement federal agency. Obama's VA Secretary resigned under pressure over VA scandals. It's pretty bad in some places.

We are blessed that the OKC VA is tied in with the OU Med Center. Their resident doctors just coming out of school are eager to apply their new skills and really push medical care. There is always a doctor overseeing their procedures and recommendations, but they have been spot on for me.
Other places like you said don't have that influx of new doctors. Walter Reed, has been found covered in black mold in the past, with rooms having leaking pipes, and so on. The majority of VA hospitals are probably somewhere that one would go as a last resort, but not OKC.
That is how socialized medicine typically turns out.

 

[bigfug]

well ya'll, it's that time of year again.

they tried to raise my rates 6% but my company switched carriers. 120/mo for a single person....400/mo for a family....crazy

medicare must be nice

how ya'll looking this year?

Do you work for the City?

 

[dennishoddy]

There's some important distinctions between Medicare & Medicaid, and even the VA. The VA is the only one that's truly socialized medicine because the government actually administers care. There are plenty of horror stories to go around if you need some. Medicare, you pay into all your working life and it and Medicaid, generally use private providers.

Some of us earned that ability to use the VA, and trust me, I wish I wasn't eligible. It's payment back to us from government for time and suffering.

 

[okcBob]

And you wanna know who they poll to get those results? The people they allow to get treatment and government people. They don’t poll the 75 year old man who has stage 3 cancer and could beat it but he’s too big of a risk/gamble so they give his spot to the 25 year old with the same illness who has more to offer economically.

I think the rankings are based on outcomes (with a politically biased methodology) & not patient polling.

 

[Jason Freeland]

I won't find out until November, what our hospital will do for insurance. Last few years I have been dumbfounded we stuck with Blue Cross as they are the biggest deadbeats when it comes to companies actually paying the hospital. I'm sure mine will go up, it's just a matter of how much.

 

[caliberbob]

I think the rankings are based on outcomes (with a politically biased methodology) & not patient polling.

Oh yeah, that may be. But even then the bias is still evident. I absolutely hate the idea of government running the healthcare system. The same idiots that tell our boys they can be girls and our girls can be boys and some people want them to run healthcare too? Mind boggling

 

[dennishoddy]

What people don’t realize is hospitals lose money on Medicare patients. CFO of a large medical center told us in a meeting that the hospital loses over 4K for every patient we admit with Medicare.
Remember Bernie calling for “Medicare for all” at the cost of 30billion more over 10 years? If that happened every hospital would close-wouldn’t be able to pay its staff or the utility bills.

That's why hospitals charge $35 to administer an asprin to insured patients in the hospitals, and they can also offset that loss with deductions on taxes if their bean counter knows their stuff.
Yeah, I know one of those bean counters. That's the story I get.

 

[caliberbob]

That's why hospitals charge $35 to administer an asprin to insured patients in the hospitals, and they can also offset that loss with deductions on taxes if their bean counter knows their stuff.
Yeah, I know one of those bean counters. That's the story I get.

They also charge $35+ for one aspirin pill because they know the insurance will only cover $15. So they jack the price more than what they want/need to make. I also know a bean counter and it drives me crazy. It’s why I can go to a clinic and pay cash and the price for a service is drastically less expensive

 

[dennishoddy]

They also charge $35+ for one aspirin pill because they know the insurance will only cover $15. So they jack the price more than what they want/need to make. I also know a bean counter and it drives me crazy. It’s why I can go to a clinic and pay cash and the price for a service is drastically less expensive

I don't have dental insurance but keep up with the 6 month checkups and cleanings. I'm on their no insurance list, and it's about 30% cheaper than if I paid for the insurance if I pay cash on the way out.

 

[JD8]

i hear a lot of ancedotes...but those aren't really reflective of general experiences...i'm not saying Canada's healthcare is perfect, infact they're ranked higher than the US but much lower than other countries....like Australia and Germany, for example. They could stand to spend more on healthcare to lower wait times. but Canada has some of the best medical systems in the world.

Sure, there are folks with tons of money or good insurance who can get into those 'luxurious wings' but i think that's actually a sign of a bigger issue...that those who are wealthier have greater access to care. A billionaire should, as a matter of principle, not receive greater medical care than a coal worker or a truck driver.

I think Australia or Germany are better comparisons, than Canada.

Also, do canadians live longer than Americans? it doesn't really make any difference how great your health care is if you can't afford it....It's also bad for business, since being an entrepeneur is much more difficult if you've got to spend thousands of dollars a month for **** healthcare....

So anecdotes don't work, and that's fair, but look up the instances of treatable cancer deaths in the UK.... documented long MRI and long breast scan wait times in Canada.