I’ve long wondered how US healthcare pays its bills? Sure they charge enormous amounts for everything, and Americans through workplace provided insurance pay the highest prices for their insurance. But, at least most places I’ve lived, and here in Colorado … Continue reading Will COVID-19 Push US Healthcare over the edge?
Back in June I was doing a major project in the yard and rolled up half the professionally laid astroturf. It’s a major job and weighs a ton… A couple of days later I stepped on the rolled astroturf and an 8-inch turf nail went through my shoe and into my right foot. It went in pretty deep, not just a surface cut. After cleaning up, covering the hole I realized I needed a tetanus shot. It was already 6:30pm, I called a couple of local urgent care offices and checked their prices. Both said the shot cost $40. I … Continue reading Medical billing still broken
Sadly, this New York Times Editorial op-ed is factually wrong in a material way that I had to write a letter. I also ripped into Dan Gorenstein on twitter(1) for linking to the article and “guessing” he didn’t think Americans would tolerate #MedicareForAll. Here is the text I sent to the Times, who knows if they will publish it. My track record of getting corrections to editorial op-eds published is close to zero. It’s like they don’t want to be wrong. The editorial board seems both confused, and factually inaccurate when it comes to how insurance works in government funded, … Continue reading Opinion | How Much Will Americans Sacrifice for Good Health Care? – The New York Times
We managed to get Health Insurance sorted out for my wife and daughter, without falling into the trap of me getting covered by an ACA policy, which would put me in jeopardy of violating the “public charge” agreement I accepted when applying for my green card. I’m self-insuring for another year aka uninsurance. Today I took my daughter to the dentist, she needed two baby teeth pulled to make way for her adult teeth. The insurance didn’t verify when they put it in. So I paid by card. In a subsequent phone call we went through the process of how … Continue reading Missing the point of Healthcare costs
CNBC has an interesting article about the number, and quality of Doctors they employ. I’ve no idea what’s going on an Apple, for a number of reasons, I’ve never bought a single product of theirs. However, given their deep pockets and ability to play a strategically long-game, I for one would be surprised if this isn’t significantly more than just about the watch and apps that can diagnose conditions based on data in collects. Here are my thoughts, in the form tweets to @charlesarthur original tweet and link to his daily Startup link list overflow. The Apple thing is an interesting … Continue reading An Apple a day keeps the Doctor Employed.
The meme But this is much less funny. The drug companies have been conspiring to raise the prices for generic drugs. albuterol, sold by generic manufacturers Mylan and Sun, jumped more than 3,400 percent, from 13 cents a tablet to more than $4.70. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/investigation-of-generic-cartel-expands-to-300-drugs/2018/12/09/fb900e80-f708-11e8-863c-9e2f864d47e7_story.html?utm_term=.4ec5cbabdebd Continue reading Why we can’t have essential things
n 2017, the real median household income in the U.S. was $61,372, which is roughly what two earners with full-time jobs making $15 an hour would make. I remain totally confused about class as a term to classify people in America. This article is a prime example. While overall this is good news, if $15-per hour helps the middle class, how little do you have to earn to be working class? And why is that term never used? As far as I’m aware the amazon deal doesn’t include health insurance, which effectively means before taxes, you’ll have to work for … Continue reading Amazon’s $15 Minimum Wage Won’t Change How Americans See Work – Bloomberg
I recently had to go for x-rays on my hip. The imaging company called saying they’d received the “order” from my chiropractor for a knee arthrogram without contrast. Apparently, this was both wrong and confusing. It’s wrong, because the “order” said hip, but they couldn’t read it; also it’s confusing because, well something to do with x-ray and contrast. After a short discussion, it turned out the imaging company received the order by fax. Yes, real actual paper fax. The US medical profession still seems to run on faxes. My prior cardiology hospital sent my medical records to my new cardiology … Continue reading Data Interchange and Interoperability in Healthcare
As we approach this year’s open enrollment period for health insurance, I continue to be shocked and disappointed about almost everything I learn about the US Healthcare system. Before I return to notes about my own experiences and my own health, maternity care is another healthcare topic that doesn’t often get discussed, as the average American prepares to pay more than $10,348, per person, per year on healthcare. While many argue about the definition of single payer, and if it would lead to socialism (and what that is?), the inefficiency, mistakes, cost and just outright expense of what should be … Continue reading Maternity medical crisis
The New York Times has an interesting piece on the price of drugs, of which Pharmacy Benefit Managers are only part of the story. Add to this the general secrecracy over prices and Pharmacy benefits and drug list (aka the formulary) which are their negotiated discount drugs, brand or generic. This has been my experience, even without insurance, it’s almost impossible to find out how much specific drugs are going to cost in advance; if there are cheaper generics; and if there is a better price. I took an alternative route and did a deal with the devil for my … Continue reading “Profiteering” in prescription drugs