The notion that people would seek outreach care has been a bust, and I think you and I both argued to that same point in one of the list of AHCA threads. It's a shame.

 

I'll add another perspective: Where I live I haven't been able to find a physician's office that's accepting new patients or doesn't have a several month-long waiting list. If I'm sick, my options right now are an urgent care, a new nurse-managed clinic, or to wait two months for an appointment. Or, I guess the ER, but I wouldn't go there unless I was carried in on a gurney.

 

I think something like the nurse-managed clinic is a great idea because people can go there for more routine or common things and it would be ostensibly easier and cheaper than going to a traditional practice. Maybe more of those will pop up as demand increases.

I'll add another perspective: Where I live I haven't been able to find a physician's office that's accepting new patients or doesn't have a several month-long waiting list. If I'm sick, my options right now are an urgent care, a new nurse-managed clinic, or to wait two months for an appointment. Or, I guess the ER, but I wouldn't go there unless I was carried in on a gurney.

 

I think something like the nurse-managed clinic is a great idea because people can go there for more routine or common things and it would be ostensibly easier and cheaper than going to a traditional practice. Maybe more of those will pop up as demand increases.

I agree, until the first malpractice lawsuit and the nurse clinic will refer everything out like hotcakes. Hope I'm wrong.

The hospital in Jackson is notorious for over charging patients. I was told, but don't know if it's true or not, that it is the most expensive hospital in the state. I know a person who spent 2 days there for a bladder infection and the charge was $16,000. All they received was an IV for antibiotic and also pain relief. And that was over 10 years ago!

It absolutely confuses me on how arbitrary hospital costs are. My wife had an outpatient procedure last week and ended up spending the night. I have no idea how much the procedure was or the stay. We paid the deductible up front with a 15% discount, but it ended up being more than what we thought the procedure would be. I don't think it should be that way. I should know what the cost will be up front, but that didn't cross my mind at the time, her health was my only concern. We are very fortunate, we will be able to handle the costs whenever the bills start flowing in, but there was a time I could not have. Now, we were in a situation where we couldn't shop and many times with health care you are in that situation. This has been going on long before OBAMA Care. Let's say a person has a broken arm should have similar costs wherever the patient gets the treatment. That just doesn't seem to be the case.

 

I can think of very few things where a person doesn't have a clue what the cost will be before something is done, if possible. It is very likely that hospitals vary widely in these costs. If you live in an area where there is only one hospital within reasonable amount of miles, then a person is really at their mercy.

 

Something about this seems very wrong and there is no doubt it is a contributor to the issues we have with Health Care IMO. But what can be done? Your health is way up there in priority for the vast majority people, I would think.

It absolutely confuses me on how arbitrary hospital costs are. My wife had an outpatient procedure last week and ended up spending the night. I have no idea how much the procedure was or the stay. We paid the deductible up front with a 15% discount, but it ended up being more than what we thought the procedure would be. I don't think it should be that way. I should know what the cost will be up front, but that didn't cross my mind at the time, her health was my only concern. We are very fortunate, we will be able to handle the costs whenever the bills start flowing in, but there was a time I could not have. Now, we were in a situation where we couldn't shop and many times with health care you are in that situation. This has been going on long before OBAMA Care. Let's say a person has a broken arm should have similar costs wherever the patient gets the treatment. That just doesn't seem to be the case.

 

I can think of very few things where a person doesn't have a clue what the cost will be before something is done, if possible. It is very likely that hospitals vary widely in these costs. If you live in an area where there is only one hospital within reasonable amount of miles, then a person is really at their mercy.

 

Something about this seems very wrong and there is no doubt it is a contributor to the issues we have with Health Care IMO. But what can be done? Your health is way up there in priority for the vast majority people, I would think.

 

 

I agree on the surface, however, it isn't the same as comparing the prices of oil changes. There are hospitals I wouldn't take my worst enemy to. You really can't shop around for the price of an appendectomy, for instance. Surgeon skills, technology, infection rates, etc vary. If I broke my arm, I would much rather go to a hospital known for trauma, than some small community hospital because I know there will be an orthopedic surgeon THERE, not some tired first year resident minding the store.

 

Sometimes (not always), you get what you pay for.

 

That being said, all hospitals have been put on notice that in a few years, one factor in Medicare's reimbursement rates to hospitals will be based on PATIENT SATISFACTION SURVEYS. That should help. The hospital I work for has been scrambling to educate all employes on the importance of good customer service. It will be interesting to see how that shakes out.

I agree on the surface, however, it isn't the same as comparing the prices of oil changes. There are hospitals I wouldn't take my worst enemy to. You really can't shop around for the price of an appendectomy, for instance. Surgeon skills, technology, infection rates, etc vary. If I broke my arm, I would much rather go to a hospital known for trauma, than some small community hospital because I know there will be an orthopedic surgeon THERE, not some tired first year resident minding the store.

 

Sometimes (not always), you get what you pay for.

 

That being said, all hospitals have been put on notice that in a few years, one factor in Medicare's reimbursement rates to hospitals will be based on PATIENT SATISFACTION SURVEYS. That should help. The hospital I work for has been scrambling to educate all employes on the importance of good customer service. It will be interesting to see how that shakes out.

 

Interesting. About 7 years ago I interviewed for a job at a hospital in Tell City, IN that was looking for someone to be like a "patient-doctor liason". I didn't get the job, but hearing this, I wonder if there will be more opportunities as hospitals look outside the industry to my industry for people who are trained in customer service first. I can certainly envision it's hard to be a care giver to the degree of a health care professional, yet maintain that level of customer service necessary to keep people happy. It's unbelievably difficult with people who are just on vacation. It's got to be 1000 x worse than that with ill "guests". And, if reimbursement is tied to patient surveys, I really, really feel bad. Because one thing I can tell you, it is nigh on impossible to please some people when they're well. It's going to be even worse with ill people, and the expectations of the ill have GOT to be exponentially higher than those of well guests.

I agree on the surface, however, it isn't the same as comparing the prices of oil changes. There are hospitals I wouldn't take my worst enemy to. You really can't shop around for the price of an appendectomy, for instance. Surgeon skills, technology, infection rates, etc vary. If I broke my arm, I would much rather go to a hospital known for trauma, than some small community hospital because I know there will be an orthopedic surgeon THERE, not some tired first year resident minding the store.

 

Sometimes (not always), you get what you pay for.

 

That being said, all hospitals have been put on notice that in a few years, one factor in Medicare's reimbursement rates to hospitals will be based on PATIENT SATISFACTION SURVEYS. That should help. The hospital I work for has been scrambling to educate all employes on the importance of good customer service. It will be interesting to see how that shakes out.

 

I have no idea what goes on in the health care interesting. It is good to hear from those that are working in that segment. It wasn't my dissatisfaction with the care. It was excellent, the whole time and all were cordial and answered all the questions we had. My wife is fine and will be.

 

I just still find it odd with the disparity in costs. I understand, you get what you pay for and a persons health really has no price.

Interesting. About 7 years ago I interviewed for a job at a hospital in Tell City, IN that was looking for someone to be like a "patient-doctor liason". I didn't get the job, but hearing this, I wonder if there will be more opportunities as hospitals look outside the industry to my industry for people who are trained in customer service first. I can certainly envision it's hard to be a care giver to the degree of a health care professional, yet maintain that level of customer service necessary to keep people happy. It's unbelievably difficult with people who are just on vacation. It's got to be 1000 x worse than that with ill "guests". And, if reimbursement is tied to patient surveys, I really, really feel bad. Because one thing I can tell you, it is nigh on impossible to please some people when they're well. It's going to be even worse with ill people, and the expectations of the ill have GOT to be exponentially higher than those of well guests.

 

 

Oddly enough I think the opposite is true. When on vacation or even out to dinner, you are paying for a good time and expect perfection. When you are a consumer out on your own terms, it is your playing field.

 

There are definately demanding obnoxious people where ever you go, but a hospital is not an area of comfort for many. As someone who has been on both sides of the hospital bed I think when you are sick, injured and/or scared, even a small kindness goes a long way.

 

 

It won't be perfect, but I think it is a good idea.

 

Oddly enough I think the opposite is true. When on vacation or even out to dinner, you are paying for a good time and expect perfection. When you are a consumer out on your own terms, it is your playing field.

 

There are definately demanding obnoxious people where ever you go, but a hospital is not an area of comfort for many. As someone who has been on both sides of the hospital bed I think when you are sick, injured and/or scared, even a small kindness goes a long way.

 

It won't be perfect, but I think it is a good idea.

 

You are probably exactly right. I have 0 experience in the health care industry. Anything I know is because my son is the Patient Access Manager over admitting @ St. Mary's and my daughter works for Humana. Of course, we have had several stays in the hospital and ER visits amongst us. :lol:

The medical world is one that is way too complex to be able to dissect, and to touch upon every facet of it, and I'll fully admit that my little knowledge of it all, and its inner workings leaves me one person with zero credibility to be able to analyze it with any trustable provable facts or statements regarding it.

 

With that said, I truly believe that young adults who enter the medical field do so with all good intentions to serve humanity with the hopes that they'll be compensated adequately for the efforts they've put into getting a decent education preparing them for whatever level of the medical field they aspire to make as their life long career.

 

While growing up, my limited naive understanding of the world never gave me any reason to feel any ill suspicions towards the medical world, and I had complete faith in it to be there specifically for the benefit of healing, to the best of its ability, whatever was causing one of us to be ill.

 

I still very much trust that medical workers have good intentions, however now I have become very suspicious of the bigger machine of the medical world, and with it the pharmaceutical companies, and all because of the love and power of money which makes me untrusting of whose benefit is first priority, and I'm not so sure that It's the patient.

 

I feel that medical workers, nurses, doctors etc... are a part of a system that they themselves have little knowledge of its inner workings, and are just at the mercy of performing their jobs in the way they are instructed to, and purposely fed a lot of misinformation to keep them confused yet trusting of the system that they are a part of. Don't bite the hand that feeds, if you will.

 

The average citizens too are fed misinformation and kept confused as well. We think that the doctor knows best, but do they when they're just making recommendations to their patients from information handed down to them that they are trusting of just because they were schooled and in many ways brainwashed by the system feeding them this information. They must trust the information as gold because it's unlikely that they themselves have any way to question it.

 

I'd imagine that some doctors start seeing a bigger picture as time goes by, but since they've dedicated so much of their life to being a doctor, they're pretty much locked in to remaining one, for it would be financial suicide for them to try to bail out, and some are served incentives to keep them playing the game.

 

Many medical workers never get the chance to see the bigger picture for if they did they'd likely turn around and inform the average citizen of the corruption within.

 

In many ways I feel that the medical world is corrupt, and a form of organized crime too big to control. Sorta like a cult where the lower servants, as well as folks right on up the ladder, don't get to see behind the scenes to know that their leaders are corrupt, and all the brainwashing that goes on is to keep the helpers bees happy, but all the while in the dark, misinformed, and confused.

 

We the average citizens too are confused, and being victims of brainwashing or not, we're stuck in a system with no other alternatives and the knowledge of who to trust.

 

There are many situations where we have no choice but to trust the medicines that our doctors put us on when its those medicines that are the very thing that can kill us.

 

I'll use my Mother as one example. She had absolutely no physical health issues to speak of. She started experiencing dementia and was diagnosed with Alzheimers and placed on Aricept. Against my wishes, my older siblings voted to place her in a nursing home when I thought that since there were six of us, we could take turns staying with her on a daily basis and make sure that she was able to happily remain in her home under our watchful eye.

 

She never liked being in the nursing home and started becoming depressed, which then the doctors put her on an anti-depressent which obviously had an effect on her behavior making her appear loopy.

 

When she was out with me for lunch she was happy and normally fine without much confusion, but then she never wanted to return back to the nursing home, and I can't blame her.

 

I had no knowledge that for a good while she started resisting her Aricept when the nurses tried to give it to her, and to this day I'm not even sure how long she was resisting because they never told me. If they had just told me I would've done my best to see to it that she was taking it. She viewed the nurses as the enemy, but she always trusted me.

 

They sent her to the hospital for psychiatric evaluation and when I went to visit her she was on some psychotic medicine that made her crazy when two days before I had her out to lunch and she was fine.

 

They took her off of the Aricept and put her on something (I forget the name) that immediately made her gain weight where she could barely lift her legs to walk and her skin started to dry up on her and she was in a constant state of misery and out of her mind.

 

I don't believe for one minute that all this was the Alzheimers, but the mix of wrong medicine that was given to her. Within 6 months she had passed at 72. I felt helpless because I had trusted the system and I could see right before my eyes that the system had failed my Mother killing her with all the wrong medicines.

 

In all she was in the nursing home for 2 years with a steady decline and especially when she was placed on her last medicines. I believe that Alzheimers is real, but the decline I saw was not Alzheimers. Here was a woman who other than her dementia was otherwise healthy. Her Alzheimers did not make her gain weight and rapidly decline. It was the medicine.

 

I truly believe that if she was able to remain happily at home, she would have gladly taken her Aricept and would have for much longer stayed healthy and in good spirits.

 

I know that we're all supposed to look at Hospice as a good thing but in my experience all I've seen is when they take over, you can better believe that the patient will die within a week and not because they were going to anyhow, but because Hospice will accelerate the death by drugging them to death.

 

The more I see various examples of a system that we're all supposed to have faith in, but in reality it so very often fails us, the more I'm losing faith in it. I'm confused too. How are we supposed to know if we're being guided properly or if we're just being taken advantage of.

 

It appears that the ones lucky enough to live into their 90's or even to 100 are the ones that managed to stay away from doctors.

There is so little oversight for hospitals with very few exceptions. Hospitals are less constrained by UCR's than private practitioners because of broad network of hoops one has to pass thru to get care. Hospitals are notorious for moving you up the ladder. I could write a book about this junk, but I'll try to be sub-b-ball-fan here and simply say that it's not going to get better. I can see no scenario where it will improve cost-wise for the patient. I'll bang my drum once more, if we would simply succumb to insurance reform, the whole industry would equalize.

There is so little oversight for hospitals with very few exceptions. Hospitals are less constrained by UCR's than private practitioners because of broad network of hoops one has to pass thru to get care. Hospitals are notorious for moving you up the ladder. I could write a book about this junk, but I'll try to be sub-b-ball-fan here and simply say that it's not going to get better. I can see no scenario where it will improve cost-wise for the patient. I'll bang my drum once more, if we would simply succumb to insurance reform, the whole industry would equalize.

 

Wait! Isn't that what the AHCA is supposed to do?

I adjust medical claims for a living and I receive plenty of calls regarding ER claims. If you have an HDHP you better be ready to pay a healthy sum if you choose to use the ER.

Wait! Isn't that what the AHCA is supposed to do?

 

The 'C' is definitely incorrect. It had nothing to do with 'care'.

 

The more proper name would have been the MUHIA - 'Mandated Unaffordable Health Insurance Act'.

 

Its all about insurance, not care and insurance is just another form of banking. So the winners were the money changers.

The 'C' is definitely incorrect. It had nothing to do with 'care'.

 

The more proper name would have been the MUHIA - 'Mandated Unaffordable Health Insurance Act'.

 

Its all about insurance, not care and insurance is just another form of banking. So the winners were the money changers.

Ah, now I have a guy bangin' the same drum as I. Not a truer post ever typed on this site than that one.