The high price of health care in U.S.

The government could do a LOT to save people a LOT WITHOUT causing hospitals losses, and WITHOUT spending a PENNY! I spoke earlier about how giving me, and the many MILLIONS like me, LICENSES for the drugs we are REQUIRED to take that are practically harmless, and allowing US to test OURSELVES could increase our productivity by OVER 24 hours a year, and save THOUSANDS of dollars! Hospitals and workers would also have shorter lines, etc...

When my mother got alzheimers, they LITERALLY had her sign her LIFE over, INCLUDING ALL SOCIAL SECURITY, and they wanted MORE! And for WHAT? LOW END accommodations, and a baby sitting service! They had FEW "NURSES" who weren't really nurses! MOST nurses today are NOT really nurses, though they PRETEND to be. And they had a doctor make a visit like once a week. WHOPIEE! As for nurses, MOST are UNLICENSED(CNA at best, with as little as 1 month training), with very little training! MOST of the remainder are on a RESTRICTED license with minimal training(LPN/LVN). They are expected to have a REAL nurse(RN) as a SUPERVISOR. ALL may be called nurses, even at the hospital. For most general care/advice, etc... the person should be an RN. In a setting like my mother had, even a CNA could be effectively a supervisor.

BTW They seemed to be locked up like fort knox but my mother, EVEN with GREATLY impaired ability, managed to use "social engineering" to not only get out, but have a complete stranger drive her tens of miles for FREE! So their "baby sitting" service isn't even all that great! Anyway, WHY do they charge so much?

And for AMBULANCES, why don't they do what taxis do? Did YOU know that TAXIS, at least in SOME areas, are REQUIRED BY LAW to provide special accommodations for some people, like vans that have wheelchair lifts? That means the vehicles cost more, the drivers may have to know more, etc... HOW do they manage this? They obviously expect you to tell them. They can NOT charge you, since it is ILLEGAL to do so for disabled people, but often charge a fee if you request the accommodations and aren't qualified.

The startup cost for a taxi is generally LESS than $1.50! For an ambulance it is over 2 HUNDRED TIMES as much! Per mile on taxis is less than $5, EVEN including tip! On an ambulance, it is over FIFTEEN TIMES as much! And must ambulances probably don't do much more than those taxi drivers for each mile. HERE'S a thought! Why don't they charge say $15/mile? That would cover the cost of the vehicle, equipment, AND the EMTs! If there is any underage, the $300 or so from the startup cost should more than cover it. That schedule would have saved me over $1200 just on the 2 ambulance rides I have had.

It would be nice if ambulances had lower end vehicles if they had trouble with licensing or expenses, that they could use for predictable cases. The idea that they have to charge like $75 a mile, ON TOP OF a HUGE initial cost is WAY too much.

But MAN, the WASTE of time and money is INCREDIBLE!

Car insurance, to be fair, IS a bit different. Car insurance is more like buying a potential loan, and a lawyer.

With car insurance, it seems like you generally get like a 3 year loan of up to the maximum amount you purchase as the insurance. For liability, the lawyers come into play and try to settle the case for as little as possible. If YOU are found complicit, they basically try to get some money back in those 3 years by raising your premium. It seems like after that, they will not require you to pay more. If YOU are not the actual owner of the car, but were the driver, they may do all that but THEN, if you don't have "full insurance", they will then go after the OWNER of the car. At least that is how it works with a lease. OH, and they ALWAYS try to pay as little as possible, but may pay a larger amount if you paid for that.

And full insurance is apparently defined by state. In California, it at least WAS $300K. Apparently it is about 1 million in Indiana. These aren't minimums, but having the minimum may not fully protect you. LUCKILY MOST damage is likely less than $3000(Generally BELOW minimum coverage), and most totals are probably less than $40,000(A bit above many minimums, but the minimums aren't THAT bad.).

Steve

I'm not quite sure I understand that question, however it's probably the latter. Everyone has the Medicare Levy deducted from their pay at the same time as income tax is deducted. That goes into a huge pool of funds, and when people receive care, the provider sends the bill to the government who then pays the provider (doctor, hospital, etc.)


It doesn't matter how long someone has been contributing the Levy, everyone has access to the same benefits. People with no, or low income get the same coverage if they've been issued with a Medicare Card, or in the case of children, are listed on their parent's card. Cards can be issued to individuals, couples or families as per the photo below.


(a mock-up card covering a family of four)

Self employed people, or those who live off their investments pay the levy when they fill out their tax returns at the end of the financial year (June 30). There are provisions for people in these two groups to pay both tax and the levy during the year, but I'm trying to keep my answer as simple as possible.

2% of taxable income for most people. Singles who "earn" less than $18,200 pay nothing, whereas those earning over $90,000 for singles or $180,000 for families can be hit with a surcharge of up to 1.5% extra (see this table) unless they take out private health insurance as well. High income earners are deemed to be able to either a) pay for care out of their own pocket, or b) be able to afford private health insurance.



TL[/QUOTE]

You're welcome.