OT: Plug Digest, Vol 62, Issue 31 - the unfixable problem.

[joe at actionline.com]

A response below (bottom posted ;)

[snipped]
> ... I took my wife to
> the ER and the charge was $3054.00 for the hospital and the doctor wanted
> $665.  She received a doctor's assessment, 3 xrays, and antibiotic, and a
> tetanus shot.  We were there for an hour and 15 minutes max.  I was
> expecting $500 - $700.
>
> After more than an hour on the phone, covering 3 calls, and telling them
> this would make a great media event, they finally reduced the hospital
> charges to $760.00.  I'm still waiting to see if the doctor will reduce
> his charges.  
>
> The tetanus shot alone was almost $1000.00.  They admitted that we could
> get the same shot at a doctor's office for $30.00 or $40.00.
>
> So how do we fix this problem?

I used to think that I had answers to most problems ... but every day that
goes by now, I realize that I have fewer and fewer answers. In part it's
because the world has become an ever-more complex place ... but an even
more pervasive problem in our society today (as I concluded my last
previous comments) ... is simply greed.

At this point, I don't think that there is a "fix" or a reasonable
solution to the so-called "health-care" nightmare. Greed has killed common
sense.

While there are always honorable, caring people in most fields of human
endeavor, the great tragedy is that the greedy are now so pervasive and so
controlling in the so-called "health-care" field ... and the fact that
most so-called elected representatives -- those who control the
fabricating of man-made laws -- are lawyers who have basically no interest
in doing what would be the right thing to do.  Rather, they invent
legislation that is so convoluted, complex, and compounded that everything
has to be endlessly litigated to death.

So, lawyers and legislators intentionally create legislation that has
nothing to do with justice.  Rather the laws are created so lawyers can
run the meter to get money.

Recently, when I was charged $280 for a 10-minute doctor appointment, I
commented that I wished we had the option to sign an iron-clad waiver that
no matter what the results of any "medical" consultation or treatment
might be I would forfeit any "right" to sue so we could get medical/health
care back to just paying for "service" actually rendered rather than
having to pay ridiculous amounts of money for lawyers and lawsuits.  He
said, that was impossible because I as a patient could not stop other
"interested parties" from suing ... even against my will.

Therein lies a huge part of the so-called "health-care" cost.  Lawyers and
insurance companies taking their bite while providing no value-added to
society.

Greed by lawyers.  Greed by suers.  Greed by pharmaceutical companies. 
Greed by so-called "doctors" who are in it for the money rather than to
help people.  Greed by people who are trying to "cheat" death by insisting
on extreme treatments waaaaay past the time that they should have just let
go and let the inevitable happen.

Recently there was a feature (on CBS 60-minutes I think) in which it was
pointed out that something like half (I think it was) of all medicare
expense is paid out for medical tests and procedures for people who are
terminally ill and in the last two months of life ... many of them
comatose for that entire time ... artificially kept alive on machines.

That is an unconscionable waste of money that inflates so-called
"health-care" costs for everybody else.  Too many doctors keep the meter
running by keeping people physically alive waaaay past the time they would
be dead without pointless extraordinary measures.

The whole so-called "health-care" nightmare is distorted waaaaay beyond
reason ... by greed.

Thus, it is not a fixable problem.  Lawyer/legislators will never allow
laws to be passed to put an end to outrageous lawsuits and insane awards
for "damages" because it is their gravy train.