I am one of those people who lost his health insurance and becuase of pre-existing conditions can not get health insuance anywhere. I had a stent put in in 1999 and recently I started getting chest pain again. I read a book "Patients Beyond Borders" and saw a thing on Discovery Channel about how affordable and excellent Health Care Was in India.
I took to the internet and found Healthbase, a company who assists people who want to go to India. These guys helped me with everything and hooked me up with a cardiac surgeon who operated on the President of India, not bad. Anyway it cost me $14,000 for 2 weeks in hospital and for ALL medical costs. The care was wonderful and I feel blessed to have found this alternative.
Our system is broken, till it is fixed people should know about India or other foreign alternatives. General Electric is in partners with the Dr who did my surgery. They are building a 42 acre facioity in New Delhi, maybe GE knows something we dont as they are probably self insured. Maybe this post will help somebody out there who is in the same situation I was.
Steve Slaven
Yuma, AZ
Most people simply don't know how good and cheap healthcare is elsewhere. It is much cheaper to do any surgery that isn't absolutely urgent almost anywhere else in the world. There are a few things I'll end up needing, but it won't be done in the US.
A Democrat seeks complex solution to simple problems
A Republican seeks simple solutions to complex problems
A reasonable person seeks simple solutions for solvable problems
You are so true right. I don't at fingertips have any stats/links, but, I know that a friend discovered that invitro-fertilization cost under $1,000,in Australia, and $25,000, in the USA. This was about six years ago, but even with inflation in both countries, there is still that glaring difference.
But the true measure in my mind, is how our friend here, can get bypass surgery in India for approx. $14,000, and my sister-in-law goes to our local hospital on an Outpatient basis, has a benign fatty cyst removed from under the skin on her left side at the waistline, and the total bill was over $16,000,
counting the doctor, and hospital together.
What a refreshing thread from the typical financially brain dead comments on most of these healthcare threads.
I'm always perplexed and amazed how many persons just can't seem to grasp... It's the enormous fees charged by the medical providers that drive health insurance premiums through the roof.
$16,000 to remove a fatty tumor, OUTPAITENT!
For some mathematical fun...
If newtoro's sister-in-law was paying $400 dollars per month for her medical insurance it would take 40 months or (3 years, 4 months) for an insurance company to even recoup what it paid out on just that one singular claim.
No clear thinking person would EVER pay that kind of money for probably what amounted to a four (4) hour procedure from start to finish.
That works out to $4,000 dollars PER HOUR.
Yes, indeed. Medical costs are out of control and will remain as long the medical providers are allowed to be paid by a third party and NOT directly by the buyers of their goods and services.
Gary Spicuzza
Copyright 1956
No Rights Reserved
The amount providers charge is not the amount the insurance companies pay. They overcharge so they can get back cost plus profit, otherwise they would get back, maybe, cost with no profit. Providers pay out liability insurance and maintain offices with personnel, both of these are high expense items. They need more people in the office because they need at least one full time person just to deal with the insurance companies and one for just billing. And this is just for specialist. A PCP will need more because they see more people and deal with more insurance problems. I'm not saying some never charge too much, but most are in high end rich areas.
Betty
Betty327@ptd.net
About 8 years ago I had small cyst taken out of my finger. I had been carrying it around for about 10 years, though it was quite a hindrance at my work. I finally decided to have it removed. I thought it would probably be done in a surgeons office. Much to my suprise, I was scheduled for inpatient surgery, where I was stretched out in an operating room, with one surgeon, one assistant, and 3, yes 3, nurses. I had insurance at the time, or I would not have had the work done. I always look at the bill though. $3200 for about 20 min work. I have no idea what the other 4 people where there for, unless the doc was to feeble to pick up a suture kit without help. If I would have had to pay out of my pocket, I would probably have taken it out myself.
On top of that, for some reason they doped me up, then laughed at my attempts to answer their questions. Maybe that's what the other 4 people were for.
He probably did it that way because of procedure. It is most likely what his/her liability insurance company demands not to mention the hospitals' procedure demands. More and more doctors are getting away from doing any procedures in the office because their liability insurance goes up or won't cover them at all.
Betty
Betty327@ptd.net