Medicynical Note: Since the Supreme Court, yes the conservative dominated one, abdicated on the oversight of fairness in elections, republican states have worked diligently to suppress the vote of and redistrict democratic opponents. These fraudulent democracy advocates are the so-called “fair”elections guys out there looking for voter fraud. Ironic…..or just tragic?
Once when working overseas I could feel secure in the legitimacy of American elections. But since the money=speech decision and the Supreme Court’s stepwise dismantling of the historic voting rights act, everything is open to question.
Medicynical note: As an organization the Catholic Church has harbored more abusers of women and children than almost any other currently active organization. It would seem to lack credibly on moral issues.
This is not just ancient history. During WWII while there were heroic individuals, the church seemed to tolerate Nazis and ignored the holocaust both in Italy and elsewhere. Later in the 20th century they aided and abetted atrocities against indigenous peoples on almost every continent (not Antarctica), they shielded abusive priests in the U.S., and to their everlasting shame participated in the atrocities of the dictators in Argentina, Chile and Franco’s Spain.
Now while still paying off previous victims they offer advice on morality.
Addendum: And this on November 18 2022. Our Supreme Court is dominated by this group’s “theology.” Unbelievable.
I’ve previously talked about the manipulation of medical prices through price gouging and medical code game playing. What follows is an example. Not unusual. It happens every day in the U.S. of A.
“Total Bill: $73,812 for the two shots ($35,414 for the first, $38,398 for the second), including lab work and physician charges. United Healthcare’s negotiated rate for the two shots plus associated fees was $27,568, of which the insurer paid $19,567. After Hinds haggled with the hospital and insurer for more than a year, his share of the bills was determined to be nearly $7,000.”
Medicynical Note: Almost everything on this bill is a manipulation of the system. First, the pricing of the lab tests. Each are inflated probably several times the actual cost of doing the test or the price of the test done for outpatients. Next, the cost of the medication leuprolide $35,000 (gasp!). This, for a drug developed in 1973 and priced at a few hundred dollar just a few years ago and costing $250 or less in overseas healthcare systems. Current pricing in various locales here. And lastly the use of codes to increase the billing i.e. separating the office visit fee from an “evaluation and management” fee. Both events, of course, happened simultaneously. Or consider the over $500 fee for a quick, less than a 1 minute, administration of a drug that has almost no immediate side effects. The nurse administering the drug didn’t even have to find a syringe to draw up the medication as it comes ready to go in a syringe.
Healthcare pricing has little to do with actual costs. This patient had insurance and paid a “negotiated” reduced but still excessive amount. But if he had no insurance he would have been billed and held accountable for the full amount, unless maybe he could claim poverty or was a skilled negotiator.
The finances of healthcare in the United States are worse than going to a used car lot and dickering for a car……and more expensive. When you understand that the CEOs’ of so-called health-care companies major concern is income not outcomes than you understand why we pay so much.
Medicynical Note: The other fatal epidemic in America. Guns terrify everyone and in the U.S. they are everywhere. A uniquely American problem (we lead the world in ownership and deaths) in a once civil society that absurdly maintains that it values life.
It should also be noted that in the other epidemic the U.S. also leads the world in deaths. What the hell is wrong with us?
Medicynical Note: His talibaneque beliefs lead to his downfall. From the time of Copernicus and Galileo religious believers have battled scientific facts and advances. But the world is not flat, Darwin was right, and yes, vaccines work. Repent ye true believers.
Procuring and paying for healthcare in the U.S. is an exercise more opaque and yes, potentially even more expensive than buying a new car. Ever try and get a firm price for healthcare services? You’ll find that no one can give a total price and guarantee that’s what you’ll be charged.
We have a system of revenue generation not healthcare. Your doctor in modern America is an employee and has little to no control over his office. And doctor’s fees it turns out are only a small part of the total cost.
Medicynical Note: I’m an elderly retired M.D. and am well covered by insurance. This year so far my Medicare/Medicare Advantage policy was billed $5,954 for services. Because they have agreements with providers they paid only $2,210.34 for the services with me paying a very modest $10/visit co-pay. Not a bad deal if you have the coverage.
If I were one of the un-insured the providers would charge the entire $5,954……ironically or perhaps by design charging those least able to pay, the most. It’s really an absurd way of paying for health care and is the only such faux health care system/revenue generation system in the industrialized world.
Health care costs in the U.S> are among the leading causes of bankruptcy. Such bankruptcies are unknown in other parts of the world.
Medicynical Note: Ted Cruz’s mind is a little like an empty room–nothing at all useful there. Remember Ted became a Trump loyalist even after Trump criticized his “deeply” held religious beliefs; his wife’s looks; his qualifications to run for office (birther-ed him); and even called Cruz a liar who had done nothing for Texas. Now Cruz a Texas politico who knows nothing and hold nothing sacred has the nerve to criticize Australian COVID rules.
I read three articles this morning that raised concerns about liability and COVID. It’s inevitable in a litigious society that this will become an issue.
The third article points out that the vaccine mandate is working. The vaccine proved to be safe is assuring vital institutions a protected work force going into the third winter of the epidemic. And perhaps more vitally it limits their risk of facing suits regarding negligence if a person was thought to have acquired COVID in a hospital setting.
Medicynical Note: There are strong arguments for vaccination. It is safe and appears to offer almost complete protection against fatal COVID infections. Breakthroughs cases appear to be in the immunocompromised and the debilitated elderly.
With a safe and effective intervention it could be posited that an employer was negligent and liable in allowing customers (patient or other workplace contacts) to be exposed to a sometimes fatal disease. The mandates protect more than the vulnerable individuals, they protect their employers and their contacts.
In a related thought, the insurance industry denies or charges more for insurance coverage for people at increased risk. Perhaps as an another incentive to vaccinate, private and government insurers should provide only limited medical cost coverage to those refusing to protect themselves. As my conservative friends point out there are consequences to bad behavior.
“Fact one: Americans are facing not merely expensive drugs, but prices that are examples of outright profiteering.”
“Fact two: in many cases, the medicines we are being gouged on are those that we the public already paid for.”
Medicynical note: It’s safe to say that we, in the U.S., pay more for medications than any other country in the world. We consider newly developed medications akin to new inventions and offer generation long monopoly like patents, having ceded our financial interests to the companies in the 80’s and 90’s.
Drug companies are not part of the health care community. In fact they care more about revenue and the exhorbitant pay of their executives and the price of their stock (stockholders wealth) than the health and well being of their customers.
They benefit from a system fixed in their favor. They do this in part by financially supporting numerous congress people to forestall congressional oversight and then charge U.S. customers whatever they wish–no discounts to offset previous taxpayer support and no negotiation with their largest customer (Medicare) to assure reasonable pricing and profits on U.S. sales.
In fact, we pay more than any other locale in the world because we let them charge us more. Do we have any right to complain?
“Parkview is among scores of wealthy hospitals that have quietly used century-old hospital lien laws to increase revenue, often at the expense of low-income people like Ms. Smith. By using liens — a claim on an asset, such as a home or a settlement payment, to make sure someone repays a debt — hospitals can collect on money that otherwise would have gone to the patient to compensate for pain and suffering.”
Medicynical Note: No surprises here, to understand the core values of American healthcare providers just follow the money and observe the trickery used to maximize revenue……which of course discourages service. Charging the least able to pay the most is a long-standing American hospital tradition.
Medicynic 