"rationing" in healthcare...

[dwivian]

I am becoming acutely aware that anyone that claims there is rationing in the current American Healthcare systems just doesn't understand the term.

Rationing controls the distribution of something. Our healthcare may not be accessible to those without the means to pay for it, but that isn't at the desire of the system. Providers would be fine if EVERYONE could pay for it, as that means more money at the end of the day. Inequity in access to the system is the problem -- not someone somewhere working to decide who gets the service and who doesn't.

The net effects are the same, but the methods differ.

Please stop convoluting the argument by trying to shove words where they don't fit.

Comments

[dwivian]

Lots of medicine CAN be shopped around, but we don't do so because we have a culture of letting the insurance company handle it, or just not getting the procedure done at all.

I've priced things regularly for dental work. I've done similarly for my knee problems. But, good point -- if I was in the ER, I doubt I'd be interviewing doctors about the cost of removing a bullet in my liver.

But, that's true about any sudden-demand commercial need. If I want a Honda Civic RIGHT NOW, I will go to the nearest Honda dealership and buy one. I won't worry if I'm getting gouged, nor will I care if I have to pay list price. If I have time to wait, though, I can compare dealerships, and if necessary I can drive to nearby towns or states (as we did for my wife's new car) to get the best price.

Maybe medicine seems so 'in your face' because we, culturally, don't get things checked or fixed until they are seriously bad? Hm.... will have to think on that one.

Medical shopping

[apsis.livejournal.com]

Ho! Because I have a high deductible, I asked for estimate of my share on a planned "routine" preventive exam a couple months in advance. I was told $750 to $850, depending on lab work, by the physician's staff who supposedly consulted my insurance. The actual cost to me was $1963 & some odd cents. (The lab portion was $137.00) And guess who was accountable for the bad estimate? No one!

Good luck with that shopping around!

Re: Medical shopping

[dwivian]

Had an estimate to take a limb down from over my roof. Estimate was $500. Actual cost, %2000. And, no surprise, the bad estimate wasn't going to be absorbed by the arborist, either. That happens with any estimate, in any industry.

Now, you CAN get a contract for work-for-pay (this is what the insurance companies do) and you don't have to pay any excess, but it isn't something the average patient thinks about. I've done it, though, and if the doctor balks, you don't want to do business with them (hey, if THEY don't trust their estimate, why should you?).