Ram Posted February 24, 2013 Posted February 24, 2013 Wanna know why the health-care can bankrupt you in the United States? Read thru the fantastic, 36 page feature that ran on Time Magazine this week. http://healthland.time.com/2013/02/20/bitter-pill-why-medical-bills-are-killing-us/print/
punjabi_khota Posted February 24, 2013 Posted February 24, 2013 Wow, this is some crazy eye-opening stuff. I knew things were bad, but THIS bad ?
Lurker Posted February 24, 2013 Posted February 24, 2013 Meanwhile in a perhaps (un)related news, I made a glorious 55 bucks for every 100 bucks that I had receieved as a bonus in 2012. A glorious 45% (39% after 401 K), or thereabouts, was ripped off by Uncle Sam in the name of taxes and healthcare benefits. And I am lucky I live in AZ, in CA there was additional tax lol. Lets make sure middle class morons like me make 45 bucks out of 100 we earned as bonus next year. Give more to the now booming "entitlement" class.
Ram Posted February 24, 2013 Author Posted February 24, 2013 Next time I catch a common cold, I am headed straight for JFK :isalute:
Ram Posted February 24, 2013 Author Posted February 24, 2013 Meanwhile in a perhaps (un)related news, I made a glorious 55 bucks for every 100 bucks that I had receieved as a bonus in 2012. A glorious 45% (39% after 401 K), or thereabouts, was ripped off by Uncle Sam in the name of taxes and healthcare benefits. And I am lucky I live in AZ, in CA there was additional tax lol. Lets make sure middle class morons like me make 45 bucks out of 100 we earned as bonus next year. Give more to the now booming "entitlement" class. Did you read the article Lurks? Let me show you an excerpt - The first of the 344 lines printed out across eight pages of his hospital bill filled with indecipherable numerical codes and acronyms seemed innocuous. But it set the tone for all that followed. It read, ? ACETAMINOPHE TABS 325 MG. The charge was only $1.50, but it was for a generic version of a Tylenol pill. You can buy 100 of them on Amazon for $1.49 even without a hospitalÃÔ purchasing power. Is it the entitlements class' fault that the hospital is charging its patients $1.50 for a pill that otherwise costs 1.5 cents?
punjabi_khota Posted February 24, 2013 Posted February 24, 2013 Next time I catch a common cold' date=' I am headed straight for JFK :isalute:[/quote'] :hysterical:
Ram Posted February 24, 2013 Author Posted February 24, 2013 :hysterical: I aint kidding, these mother-phuckers will rid me of my entire family fortune for a stomach virus.
punjabi_khota Posted February 24, 2013 Posted February 24, 2013 I aint kidding' date=' these mother-phuckers will rid me of my entire family fortune for a stomach virus. [/quote'] Yeah man, god forbid if I ever lose insurance.
Clarke Posted February 24, 2013 Posted February 24, 2013 So the answer is destroy medicare (Paul Ryan 2016!) and let the market fix the problem ? Like Texas Medical Center, you could have 49 others competing against each other and cancer can then be cured for $1.49 :dontknow:
Lurker Posted February 24, 2013 Posted February 24, 2013 Is it the entitlements class' fault that the hospital is charging its patients $1.50 for a pill that otherwise costs 1.5 cents? Was that something you did not know Sriram? This is something everybody knows, or cares to know. A simple heartburn medicine that you will get for a buck in India costs a dollar in US. Do your Math. This is a deeper discussion that involves wrongful expense at every step. Where are you gonna cut? I once worked for a Phrama company, 3rd largest in the world, whose balance sheet showed 5 billion USD as "Sundry" expense. This sundry expense was effectively used to fight all the legal cases against the company. And of course this amount wasnt coming out of the company's bottomline, it was coming out of consumers pockets. So yeah it does not surprise me that the cost procuered and service provided are completely on the opposite side of spectrum. My issue is how the taxes are hurting the middle class, and just a buck here and there have added to the point where your money is effectively being taken away from you. And you do not have to be a billionaire stock market guy to feel that way.
anotherhawkeye Posted February 25, 2013 Posted February 25, 2013 Wanna know why the health-care can bankrupt you in the United States? Read thru the fantastic, 36 page feature that ran on Time Magazine this week. http://healthland.time.com/2013/02/20/bitter-pill-why-medical-bills-are-killing-us/print/ Man, you spoilt my weekend. I have my parents and in laws coming in this year and I'm now *****ing on my pants if anything goes bad when they are here. A friend of hours had bill of $200k for their relative who fell sick when they were here.
punjabi_khota Posted February 25, 2013 Posted February 25, 2013 ^They should have the travellers insurance at the very least.
ravishingravi Posted February 25, 2013 Posted February 25, 2013 Saw interview with the guy on daily show. It is interesting how the most fundamental questions are deflected.
Clarke Posted February 25, 2013 Posted February 25, 2013 Man' date=' you spoilt my weekend. I have my parents and in laws coming in this year and I'm now *****ing on my pants if anything goes bad when they are here. A friend of hours had bill of $200k for their relative who fell sick when they were here. [/quote'] Too many desis take things for granted and prefer saving maybe a thousand dollars on health insurance for family, sometimes themselves. Don't they effin get it, the alternative is probably bankruptcy/debt for a decade or two ?
Ram Posted February 25, 2013 Author Posted February 25, 2013 Man' date=' you spoilt my weekend. I have my parents and in laws coming in this year and I'm now *****ing on my pants if anything goes bad when they are here. A friend of hours had bill of $200k for their relative who fell sick when they were here. [/quote'] Dont worry, I have the perfect insurance plan for you - http://tinyurl.com/ahgcykf :dontmentionit:
Ram Posted February 25, 2013 Author Posted February 25, 2013 Was that something you did not know Sriram? This is something everybody knows, or cares to know. A simple heartburn medicine that you will get for a buck in India costs a dollar in US. Do your Math. This is a deeper discussion that involves wrongful expense at every step. Where are you gonna cut? I once worked for a Phrama company, 3rd largest in the world, whose balance sheet showed 5 billion USD as "Sundry" expense. This sundry expense was effectively used to fight all the legal cases against the company. And of course this amount wasnt coming out of the company's bottomline, it was coming out of consumers pockets. So yeah it does not surprise me that the cost procuered and service provided are completely on the opposite side of spectrum. My issue is how the taxes are hurting the middle class, and just a buck here and there have added to the point where your money is effectively being taken away from you. And you do not have to be a billionaire stock market guy to feel that way. I think you are conflating two completely different topics here. On the issue of taxation - Nobody likes to pay taxes, not you, not me, not anyone else. Trust me, it really pisses me off when gazillionaires like Mitt Romney can hire smart accountants who play around with the various loop-holes to the point where he pays an effective tax rate of 15%, while average Joes like me pay close to a whopping 40%. In fact, my anger at taxes have risen proportionately to the rise in my income. As bizarre as this may sound, in the year of 2012, I paid more in just taxes than my entire net income in the year of 2008, the year I started working. Obviously, it is not a good feeling. :mad: BUT - Here's the flip side of that story. I have no problem with the govt taxing me exorbitant rates, as long the money that is being taxed is spent on programs that stir up the economic engine. Everyone's mad at the trillion dollar stimulus. Not me though - I am very glad that the stimulus came in during the time it did. But for it, I would have probably been unemployed during significant periods of 2009 (and maybe even beyond). If the govt wants to take 50 cents from every dollar I make, please do, only as long as you take that money to build roads, nurture talent and create a market out there for the skills I can offer. Sure, the net amount I pay in taxes may go up, but as long as my net income is growing, I dont have much to complain. I will start complaining if my net income flat-lined (or goes down), but my expenditures are on an upward curve. That has not happened to me so far. I will also start complaining of my tax dollars go towards pointless wars who do nothing but fill the coffers of those arms dealers, weapons contractors and private security firms. The Iraq war did nothing to boost my economic situation. Not good. Corporate greed - This thread is more about Corporate greed. Unfortunately, the word capitalism has been bastardized so much to the point where it is now commonly mistaken for corporations doing whatever they want to boost their profits as high as they can possibly imagine. What is happening in the American healthcare system is not a product capitalism - It is corrupt corporate leaders opportunistically capitalizing on peoples concern for their health and well-being to fleece them out of their hard-earned money. This is WRONG.
Ram Posted February 25, 2013 Author Posted February 25, 2013 Yeah man' date=' god forbid if I ever lose insurance. [/quote'] Actually, you may think that having insurance means you are insulated from these risks/price-rises. But in the end, the rising premiums the insurance companies need to charge to cover for the astronomical prices these health care facilities quote will ultimately have to come out of your pay-check. Bottom - We ARE ALL affected, one way or the other.
DomainK Posted February 25, 2013 Posted February 25, 2013 Seems India is a lot better when it comes to healthcare.
Lurker Posted February 25, 2013 Posted February 25, 2013 Corporate greed - This thread is more about Corporate greed. Unfortunately, the word capitalism has been bastardized so much to the point where it is now commonly mistaken for corporations doing whatever they want to boost their profits as high as they can possibly imagine. What is happening in the American healthcare system is not a product capitalism - It is corrupt corporate leaders opportunistically capitalizing on peoples concern for their health and well-being to fleece them out of their hard-earned money. This is WRONG. Is it any different in ANY other industry? Or is it that Finance, Healthcare, Energy have become targets for people for some weird moral reasons?? Yes Healthcare costs are outrageous. Does that mean Healthcare companies are making huge margins?? Or do you think they are the richest companies by any means? Here is a reality check. The largest Healthcare company in USA, HCA, has less market capitalization than Adobe Software. Yes let that sink in for a second. The largest US Healthcare company of its kind running multiple hospitals and beds saving lives is valued less than a company that makes PDF reader and photoshop softwares. How do you like that? And I bet Adobe will be making more profits too. And yet never heard anyone complain how outrageous Photoshop costs are (which it is, considering they should be sold at a fraction of a cost anyway). Nobody accusses Apple of selling iPhone at 499 when they can easily sell it at 99 bucks and still turn in a decent profit. Or even at 9 bucks! Why is that? Why so much love for Healthcare companies. I truly think this is because we have lost good leaders. Republicans dont know how to send out message, Democrats too busy to take money off my pockets. Meanwhile my money is getting tanked.
punjabi_khota Posted February 25, 2013 Posted February 25, 2013 Is it any different in ANY other industry? Or is it that Finance, Healthcare, Energy have become targets for people for some weird moral reasons?? Yes Healthcare costs are outrageous. Does that mean Healthcare companies are making huge margins?? Or do you think they are the richest companies by any means? Here is a reality check. The largest Healthcare company in USA, HCA, has less market capitalization than Adobe Software. Yes let that sink in for a second. The largest US Healthcare company of its kind running multiple hospitals and beds saving lives is valued less than a company that makes PDF reader and photoshop softwares. How do you like that? And I bet Adobe will be making more profits too. And yet never heard anyone complain how outrageous Photoshop costs are (which it is, considering they should be sold at a fraction of a cost anyway). Nobody accusses Apple of selling iPhone at 499 when they can easily sell it at 99 bucks and still turn in a decent profit. Or even at 9 bucks! Why is that? Why so much love for Healthcare companies. I truly think this is because we have lost good leaders. Republicans dont know how to send out message, Democrats too busy to take money off my pockets. Meanwhile my money is getting tanked. Oh bhai, what kind of ridiculous tangent are you on ? When was the last time Adobe was needed to save someone's life ? Or someone went bankrupt because of their Adobe purchases ? Significant % of all bankruptcies in America happen because of healthcare costs, and as the article shows, costs which have nothing to do with the value they provide. Healthcare cannot be compared to Apple. It is literally apples and oranges.
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