Uninsured Patient Billed More than $12,000 for Broken Rib
March 31st, 2007Via: San Francisco Chronicle:
There are 47 million people in this country without health insurance. Richmond resident Joey Palmer is one of them.
He learned how costly this can be after fracturing a rib in a relatively minor motorcycle accident and subsequently being hit with a bill for more than $12,000 from San Francisco General Hospital.
“There’s no way I could pay something like that,” Palmer, 32, told me. “I’m not a bum, but I’m not making a lot of money right now. How is anyone supposed to pay a bill like that?”
Iman Nazeeri-Simmons, director of administrative operations at San Francisco General, said she sympathizes with Palmer’s situation.
“It’s not us,” she said. “It’s the whole system, and the system is broken. We need to look closely at making changes and at how we can deliver care in a rational way.”
Palmer’s story illustrates the broader problem of runaway health care costs in the United States and a system that leaves millions of Americans to fend for themselves.
It also underlines the importance of universal coverage that guarantees affordable health care to anyone, anywhere — a goal that’s become a central issue in California and in the current presidential campaign.
“We are the only developed country that doesn’t cover all its people,” said Stan Dorn, a senior research associate at the nonpartisan Urban Institute. “We also spend a lot more than the rest of the developed world.”
The United States spent an average of $6,102 per person on health care in 2004 (the latest year for which figures are available), according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Canada spent $3,165 per person, France $3,159, Australia $3,120 and Britain a mere $2,508. At the same time, life expectancy in the United States was lower than in each of these other countries and infant mortality was higher.
What I don’t like is that health providers charge people, that don’t have insurance, “more” than they charge people that do; usually a lot more. The whole attitude is SCREW the person that is down instead of help that person. This attitude, to me, encourages dishonesty: “if they’re gonna try to cheat me, well I’ll just cheat them and not pay”
You know, the paper publishes shit like that, and Kevin the lib re-publishes it like its some sort of travesty that a 32 year old able bodied man doesnt have insurance. He’s fully capable of getting a job and [aying for insurance, thats a given and we all know that. THe bigger story of course, is the one that Kevin and the SF chronicle WONT DO. THats the one where an equally able bodied Mexican illegal goes into SF general and puts down 000-ooo-0000 for his social security number. That means, he pays NOTHING. No collections, no “payment plan” but the taxpayers of California pay it. It’s called “presumed eligibility” by MediCal (MediCal is FREE insurance for all illegals- but don’t be a white or black CITIZEN with a social security number- YOU DON’T QUALIFY!) I’m an ER physician in N. California- OVER 70% of our patients are ILLEGAL Mexicans and Central Americans. THEY ARE CRIPPLING THE SYSTEM.
Crippling the system my ass. People are always quick to scapegoat others, especially when it’s people of different cultures ie. xenophobia. All this talk of illegals so-called over-running this country is such a load of horsesh*t. This country was founded on lies since day one, and that lie has been perpetuated up to the present. Attitudes like this are blatant modern-day racism, etc. The whole Protestant “work hard and you’ll receive a just reward” ethic is such a farce and a very simplistic outlook at how the American society works.
Someone get me outta here…I’m hating this place more and more…
Another f’ed up thing about medical care in the states is that prisoners have the “right” to health care. That’s right – law abiding citizens have to pay the full price; prisoners get sex change operations, heart transplants, etc., free.
My personal retirement plan for here in the states is to commit some sort of white collar crime, get sent to a minimum security prison – then get free food and lodging and health care for the rest of my life.
I figure there’s really very little difference between the prison and the “outside” at this point, any way. You get better care behind prison walls because you are submitting to the satanic forces ravaging humanity and this planet. It’s a system of domination and control, and if you don’t have the power you have to submit, or be exterminated.
Here’s what Ron Paul has to say ’bout this:
Free Market Medicine
http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul175.html
also, Why is Medical Care So Expensive?
http://www.mises.org/story/2285
like, you know, when has the government ever fixed a problem, including the ones of its own creation?
Though modern Germany is well-populated with financial and insurance peril, the issue of medical costs still remains some semblance of sanity.
For example, I recently paid a couple visits to a local ortho doc. When filling out paperwork and reaching the box labeled “insurance” we simply write ‘private’ and list a prominent private insurer (read: brand name). We held a policy with the company for the first couple years here, as I was REQUIRED to possess a medical policy before Germany would let me stay.
It required some bureaucratic tooth-pulling, but we were able to cancel it eventually, and keep the substantial premiums in the bank — drawing interest.
With “private” insurance, you pay cash and collect receipts, submitting them only after exceeding a specific cost ceiling; essentially your annual deductible. If you didn’t submit any claims, you received five months premiums back.
Now, sans policy, we simply continue to play the private game — and pay lower rates, as the docs love cash as opposed to the insurance system, which is also biting deeply into their wallets.
As generally healthy individuals, leading a lifestyle similar in many ways to life on the Farmlet, we practice a great deal of “old school” prophylaxis, via Kombucha and all that other witchy earth wisdom still out there.
The thousands of euro we’re NOT spending each years slowly accumulate, to cover any major trauma incident that falls outside coverage by comprehensive house and auto policies (and we’re usually at home). Self-insurance, ye olde wealthy barber style. Nothing fancy.
The basic problem is that medicine, American style, is all about profit. Somewhere, at sometime in the past, the Hippocratic concept behind medicine being one of “helping people” took a backseat to turning a buck. US (and to a lesser extent, Western) medicine became a profit-centric business, one that concentrates on treating symptoms rather than curing diseases and healing people, and charging exorbitant fees to anyone who can and will pay them while doing so.
Just one pill, once a day, ask your doctor! Plus specialty treatments for the ultra-wealthy, and emphasis on “slash and burn” medicine (surgery and chemicals).
Medical insurance companies routinely negotiate these fees down to still-astronomical numbers, as they’re well aware of the scam, being an intrinsic part of it.
The US needs to start over with regard to health care, roll the clock back to 1950.
We had dinner with friend who is a health benefits expert a few nights ago and they explained why this is.
Health care provides have 3 prices for their services.
1. Price negotiated with HMO (broken arm = $3000)
2. Price for homeless person off the street ( $0)
3. Price for uninsured person(broken arm = $12000)
Basically they lose their shirts on the people who cannot pay, they have a fixed market rate for insured people, so the uninsured get the ‘free market’ rate that they need to charge to cover their overloaded costs.