2-Year Anniversary of Affordable Care Act: Why it Works, How Republicans Will Smear It, And Why The GOP's War on Health Care May Backfire in November

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I work in Critical Care and it is astonishing how many really sick people there are without insurance or any reasonable means to pay. These are people who are in the ICU for a month or sometimes longer, where they constant care, multiple IV poles, each with 6 pumps and tubing, they are ventilated (on a breathing machine), getting dialysis, etc. An RN tossed an IV bag to me and asked me if I've ever had $10,000 in my hand before. All of this loss that hospitals have (because they cannot turn anyone away) is passed on to those with insurance. But there is a far more efficient and cheaper way - have everyone covered, especially with preventative care, check-ups, maintenance drugs. You wanna see the cost of untreated diabetes because someone can't afford to see a doctor, let alone get insulin, come visit your local hospital's ICU.

Of course, we could do things they way do it in my wife's country - if you can't pay, you just die on the street.

No, it's not. Some hospitals may "attempt" to pass it on to insurance providers, but the insurance companies don't allow that at all. If the "cost" of the IV bag is let's say $250 then the Insurance company might give the hospital $300-$350. They aren't going to shell out $10,000 because it's asked for. Insurance companies pay out only a fraction of what is "asked" for by hospitals/doctor's offices. That fraction is no where even close to what is asked for and is only slightly above the actual market "cost" of the items/services.

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No, it's not. Some hospitals may "attempt" to pass it on to insurance providers, but the insurance companies don't allow that at all. If the "cost" of the IV bag is let's say $250 then the Insurance company might give the hospital $300-$350. They aren't going to shell out $10,000 because it's asked for. Insurance companies pay out only a fraction of what is "asked" for by hospitals/doctor's offices. That fraction is no where even close to what is asked for and is only slightly above the actual market "cost" of the items/services.

It's not a direct pass on, but it's amusing that a self proclaimed Libertarian is opposed to hospitals adjusting their costs to reflect the loss from care for the uninsured. Yes, the hospitals absorb a lot of costs, but that's why the prices are much higher than the agreed upon, negotiated price between the health care provider and the insurance company, and remember, health care providers don't have to accept someone's insurance. HMO's were suppose to be the answer to cost containment but that hasn't happened as the cost of care continues to skyrocket with the number one factor being the uninsured.

Edited March 24, 2012 by Mister Fancypants