Quote:
Originally Posted by aozer
You’re talking about single procedures. A lot treatments encompass more than just a single procedure, i.e CAT scans, consultations, physical therapy etc that will all add up to a lot of money.
I got a CAT scan and a few stitches on my head last year and the bill would have been over 9k if I had paid out of pocket. I was in the emergency room for less than an hour. For someone working minimum wage with no health insurance, that simple accident would have completely fucked up their finances.
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Fair point, however, the totals even when combined don't equal the ridiculous million dollar amounts that were stated in the previous post.
With respect to your example, will $9K hurt someone who is making minimum wage and has no health insurance? Not a chance. Why? Because someone making minimum wage will be considered indigent and will be financially absolved from payment. If you push that up a bit, and say $9K will have a major impact on someone making, say, $40K/yr - that I would agree with. One has to ponder though, that all medical bills can be paid on installment plans of usually 24-48mos, frequently with no interest. That is gonna come out to around 250/mo or so. If $250 on a $40k income is going to have a major impact, then I go back to my original comment and say it isn't a medical problem, it is a financial responsibility problem.
Look - I am not saying that our medical system isn't expensive and could really use with an overhaul - it certainly can, and is. The problem, however, isn't the issue that many make it out to be and the answer isn't to have some nanny state government try and make it better. The true answer would be to have the patient be more involved with the actual billing and create a more free-market system, versus the 3rd party payee system we currently have.