The Vent

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Laura, Mumsie - to your rooms without dinner. NOW.

HAHAHA! You can't make me...just try and catch me granny! Don't trip over your cane and shawl!!!!

You should know by now that my BFF will sooooooo retaliate:

Now - go to your darn rooms already.

[~Laura and Nick~ 5]

Laura, Mumsie - to your rooms without dinner. NOW.

HAHAHA! You can't make me...just try and catch me granny! Don't trip over your cane and shawl!!!!

You should know by now that my BFF will sooooooo retaliate:

Now - go to your darn rooms already.

You are BFF with Yoda?

*cough*

LOSER!! LOLZ

[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

Laura, Mumsie - to your rooms without dinner. NOW.

HAHAHA! You can't make me...just try and catch me granny! Don't trip over your cane and shawl!!!!

You should know by now that my BFF will sooooooo retaliate:

Now - go to your darn rooms already.

You are BFF with Yoda?

*cough*

LOSER!! LOLZ

Tsk, tsk, Laura don't be too cross with Granma, she hasn't her prune juice today and you know how that makes her.

[MissStacey 1]

Thanks guys

I've talked with my parents and they said that they are going to help me with whatever I have to pay beyond what I am covered.

I'm so so lucky to have them.

I'm crying I'm so happy.

I'm definitely going to take care of all of this before I move....I will have the last of the filings completely by the 9th of May so, that's a good thing.

Thanks for being here

That is great!! Its so good to have nice parents!

P.S.- you do have amazingly beautiful teeth.

As far as the root canal goes- you can always hold off. If the tooth is extremely sensitive and really bothers you or starts to hurt then you may want to go for it.

I don't know if you have ever had one before- it really isn't that bad to go through.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Laura, Mumsie - to your rooms without dinner. NOW.

HAHAHA! You can't make me...just try and catch me granny! Don't trip over your cane and shawl!!!!

You should know by now that my BFF will sooooooo retaliate:

Now - go to your darn rooms already.

You are BFF with Yoda?

*cough*

LOSER!! LOLZ

Tsk, tsk, Laura don't be too cross with Granma, she hasn't her prune juice today and you know how that makes her.

OK FREAKS - THAT'S ENOUGH.

[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

Thanks guys

I've talked with my parents and they said that they are going to help me with whatever I have to pay beyond what I am covered.

I'm so so lucky to have them.

I'm crying I'm so happy.

I'm definitely going to take care of all of this before I move....I will have the last of the filings completely by the 9th of May so, that's a good thing.

Thanks for being here

That is great!! Its so good to have nice parents!

P.S.- you do have amazingly beautiful teeth.

As far as the root canal goes- you can always hold off. If the tooth is extremely sensitive and really bothers you or starts to hurt then you may want to go for it.

I don't know if you have ever had one before- it really isn't that bad to go through.

I thought Laura was in pain. She does have great teeth, of course she doesn't go around biting people. GRRRRR.

[~Laura and Nick~ 5]

I thought Laura was in pain. She does have great teeth, of course she doesn't go around biting people. GRRRRR.

I don't?

ROAR!!!!

Kidding kidding

That is great!! Its so good to have nice parents!

P.S.- you do have amazingly beautiful teeth.

As far as the root canal goes- you can always hold off. If the tooth is extremely sensitive and really bothers you or starts to hurt then you may want to go for it.

I don't know if you have ever had one before- it really isn't that bad to go through.

Thanks hon!

Yeah, root canal always sounded soooo scary and painful to me...but many people say it's not that bad.

I'm not in pain at all and he's filled the teeth that are the ones doomed for the root canal which he says will delay in the need for one.

So we'll see.

Hugs hon!

[DeadPoolX 9]

few yrs back, wife badly sprained her ankle! Went to the ER. Sat there for like 3 hrs, finally got admitted. Saw the Dr for all of 2 minutes, had an xray to confirm nothing broken, and that was it!! Bil was close to $1500!. Luckily we have insurance. Since she had an xray, they did a pregnancy test, same one u buy at ur pharmacy for $20, they charged $60,lol Hospitals are not here to make ya better, there here to make $$$$

That really depends on the type of hospital you go to. If you head to a private hospital, sure -- they want to make money, why wouldn't they? The only way they can stay in business is by charging patients. They get absolutely zero from the government. However, private hospitals generally have the latest-and-greatest in medical technology and gain the best physicians, since these places are the nicest working environments to be in and offer the highest income potential (this, of course, differs by region).

State-run hospitals (and we do have some of these, although they are of much lower quality, as is the case with government-run healthcare) are free to the public. But you can expect huge lines, tons of people (most of whom would you could classify as "unsavory" characters, such as your homeless, drug users, drug pushers, pimps, hookers, and sometimes a dead person is even "dropped off" as well), including a general lack of overall supplies, room to house the patients, and the necessary staff (physicians, nurses, techs, etc) to deal with the high influx of patients. All in all, state-run hospitals are very much a nightmare. However, they don't cost upfront nor do you require health insurance (these are paid for by taxation), so if you are completely broke or some wandering vagabond, these places might be your only bet.

[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

few yrs back, wife badly sprained her ankle! Went to the ER. Sat there for like 3 hrs, finally got admitted. Saw the Dr for all of 2 minutes, had an xray to confirm nothing broken, and that was it!! Bil was close to $1500!. Luckily we have insurance. Since she had an xray, they did a pregnancy test, same one u buy at ur pharmacy for $20, they charged $60,lol Hospitals are not here to make ya better, there here to make $$$$

That really depends on the type of hospital you go to. If you head to a private hospital, sure -- they want to make money, why wouldn't they? The only way they can stay in business is by charging patients. They get absolutely zero from the government. However, private hospitals generally have the latest-and-greatest in medical technology and gain the best physicians, since these places are the nicest working environments to be in and offer the highest income potential (this, of course, differs by region).

State-run hospitals (and we do have some of these, although they are of much lower quality, as is the case with government-run healthcare) are free to the public. But you can expect huge lines, tons of people (most of whom would you could classify as "unsavory" characters, such as your homeless, drug users, drug pushers, pimps, hookers, and sometimes a dead person is even "dropped off" as well), including a general lack of overall supplies, room to house the patients, and the necessary staff (physicians, nurses, techs, etc) to deal with the high influx of patients. All in all, state-run hospitals are very much a nightmare. However, they don't cost upfront nor do you require health insurance (these are paid for by taxation), so if you are completely broke or some wandering vagabond, these places might be your only bet.

I must disagree with your statements as being too broad and general and in some cases false. It might be different in Houston or DC but in many places in the US private hospitals as you have described do not exist but are of the co-pay variety. Many of the pure private hospitals you describe also get plenty of state and federal funding, frequently via fraud or other deceptive practices. Ask the Hospital Corporation of America (Sen. Bill Frist and family) who paid $1.8 billion dollars in fines or check with the GAO (Government Accounting Office). State-run and federal facilities (VA hospitals, etc.) aren't the only ones who operate using taxation, but at least they offer some representation and oversight. No taxation without representation, where have I heard that before? Government or private insurance plans cover at least a part of the bill for many patients. Is government-run healthcare better or worse than private plans. It depends on what the parameters of resource allocation are. To state that only the best doctors go to private hospitals is a vast generalization and specious at best and downright mendacious at worst. I would go to San Francisco General or Massachusetts General any day of the week. The US model is certainly different than the Canadian model with good and bad in each. There are many working poor or homeless that are hardly unsavoury, so your qualifier should have been worded slightly differently perhaps. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of dumps but still I always thought that hospitals were there to heal the sick, not to make money or cast aspersions on the clientele. Then again, what do I know?

[DeadPoolX 9]

I've had the 99.9% of my experience with hospitals in Houston, so when I think of "public" hospitals, the first one to come to mind would be Ben Taub. I realize they've cleaned up their act some over the years, but overall, that place is a warzone and no one I know would ever elect to go there. Perhaps there are some government-run hospitals in the U.S. that are good, but in my experience, I have not seen them.

The type of patients entering the hospital do matter to some degree. If the patients coming into the hospital cannot afford to pay for their care and are, for lack of a better word, criminals (I realize homeless individuals aren't breaking the law, but drug pushers and pimps/hookers are), it's never too long before violence tends to erupt. In Ben Taub, for instance, it's not uncommon to see people walking in holding firearms or even, at times, taking a pot shot at one another. You'd be hard-pressed to see this at a private institution in an upperclass area.

As for hospitals making money... yes, the main reason hospitals exist is to house the sick while they are being treated. However, they must receive funds from somewhere. Unless they are being completely subsidized by the government, they need to gain income from patients using their facilities. It costs a lot to run a hospital -- how do you think they make use of their medical technology and employ their large staff, which is needed to work around the clock? If a hospital can't make a profit, it will ultimately be forced to shut down and then no one gets care. I fail to see how that benefits society.

[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

I've had the 99.9% of my experience with hospitals in Houston, so when I think of "public" hospitals, the first one to come to mind would be Ben Taub. I realize they've cleaned up their act some over the years, but overall, that place is a warzone and no one I know would ever elect to go there. Perhaps there are some government-run hospitals in the U.S. that are good, but in my experience, I have not seen them.

The type of patients entering the hospital do matter to some degree. If the patients coming into the hospital cannot afford to pay for their care and are, for lack of a better word, criminals (I realize homeless individuals aren't breaking the law, but drug pushers and pimps/hookers are), it's never too long before violence tends to erupt. In Ben Taub, for instance, it's not uncommon to see people walking in holding firearms or even, at times, taking a pot shot at one another. You'd be hard-pressed to see this at a private institution in an upperclass area.

As for hospitals making money... yes, the main reason hospitals exist is to house the sick while they are being treated. However, they must receive funds from somewhere. Unless they are being completely subsidized by the government, they need to gain income from patients using their facilities. It costs a lot to run a hospital -- how do you think they make use of their medical technology and employ their large staff, which is needed to work around the clock? If a hospital can't make a profit, it will ultimately be forced to shut down and then no one gets care. I fail to see how that benefits society.

I live in a physician-centric world so my frame of reference will likely be different than yours. I agree with what you say about some public hospitals. VA hospitals are some of the worse. The Walter Reed embarassment is still fresh in my mind.

I know of shootings inside hospitals in DC (actually inside the OR) so I know what you say about the violence extant in some hospitals.

My biggest concern (the GAO as well) about private hospitals is not in the staff or necessarily the physicians, it is management and concomitant waste. Who do you think actually pays for it? A hospital should not make a profit, if at the end of the day all costs have been accounted for then that's fine. How many nurses or lab techs equal the salary of one CEO? I know the answer but then again, I've seen the exact figures. Who else has? If the argument is proffered that without a motive for profit there will be no more hospital construction, I would remind those who make such contentions that there will always be a need for the greater good and the tax breaks in medically underserved areas ameliorate any such concerns.

If that doesn't work, just build a Starbucks in the lobby.

Edited April 20, 2008 by IR5FORMUMSIE

[Delicia 1]

Day 174

[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

Day 174

One is never enough.

[Delicia 1]

Day 175!

[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

Day 175!

We're with you in spirit.