Joe, is greed the problem, or the ability to coerce?
Eric

On Sun, Aug 29, 2010 at 5:51 PM, <joe@actionline.com> wrote:

>
> A response below (bottom posted ;)
>
> [snipped]
> > ... I took my wife to
> > the ER and the charge was $3054.00 for the hospital and the doctor wanted
> > $665.  She received a doctor's assessment, 3 xrays, and antibiotic, and a
> > tetanus shot.  We were there for an hour and 15 minutes max.  I was
> > expecting $500 - $700.
> >
> > After more than an hour on the phone, covering 3 calls, and telling them
> > this would make a great media event, they finally reduced the hospital
> > charges to $760.00.  I'm still waiting to see if the doctor will reduce
> > his charges.
> >
> > The tetanus shot alone was almost $1000.00.  They admitted that we could
> > get the same shot at a doctor's office for $30.00 or $40.00.
> >
> > So how do we fix this problem?
>
> I used to think that I had answers to most problems ... but every day that
> goes by now, I realize that I have fewer and fewer answers. In part it's
> because the world has become an ever-more complex place ... but an even
> more pervasive problem in our society today (as I concluded my last
> previous comments) ... is simply greed.
>
> At this point, I don't think that there is a "fix" or a reasonable
> solution to the so-called "health-care" nightmare. Greed has killed common
> sense.
>
> While there are always honorable, caring people in most fields of human
> endeavor, the great tragedy is that the greedy are now so pervasive and so
> controlling in the so-called "health-care" field ... and the fact that
> most so-called elected representatives -- those who control the
> fabricating of man-made laws -- are lawyers who have basically no interest
> in doing what would be the right thing to do.  Rather, they invent
> legislation that is so convoluted, complex, and compounded that everything
> has to be endlessly litigated to death.
>
> So, lawyers and legislators intentionally create legislation that has
> nothing to do with justice.  Rather the laws are created so lawyers can
> run the meter to get money.
>
> Recently, when I was charged $280 for a 10-minute doctor appointment, I
> commented that I wished we had the option to sign an iron-clad waiver that
> no matter what the results of any "medical" consultation or treatment
> might be I would forfeit any "right" to sue so we could get medical/health
> care back to just paying for "service" actually rendered rather than
> having to pay ridiculous amounts of money for lawyers and lawsuits.  He
> said, that was impossible because I as a patient could not stop other
> "interested parties" from suing ... even against my will.
>
> Therein lies a huge part of the so-called "health-care" cost.  Lawyers and
> insurance companies taking their bite while providing no value-added to
> society.
>
> Greed by lawyers.  Greed by suers.  Greed by pharmaceutical companies.
> Greed by so-called "doctors" who are in it for the money rather than to
> help people.  Greed by people who are trying to "cheat" death by insisting
> on extreme treatments waaaaay past the time that they should have just let
> go and let the inevitable happen.
>
> Recently there was a feature (on CBS 60-minutes I think) in which it was
> pointed out that something like half (I think it was) of all medicare
> expense is paid out for medical tests and procedures for people who are
> terminally ill and in the last two months of life ... many of them
> comatose for that entire time ... artificially kept alive on machines.
>
> That is an unconscionable waste of money that inflates so-called
> "health-care" costs for everybody else.  Too many doctors keep the meter
> running by keeping people physically alive waaaay past the time they would
> be dead without pointless extraordinary measures.
>
> The whole so-called "health-care" nightmare is distorted waaaaay beyond
> reason ... by greed.
>
> Thus, it is not a fixable problem.  Lawyer/legislators will never allow
> laws to be passed to put an end to outrageous lawsuits and insane awards
> for "damages" because it is their gravy train.
>
>
>
>
>
>
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