Learning about the health care bill

[Mormon Red Death]

What do you mean by 'way after?' Are there case studies about this?

For brand name drugs Canada imposes price controls. They buy in bulk and the drug companies do this because marginally it costs less to produce and extra pill. Now are they always "way after"? obviously not only the sith deal in absolutes. However take this example

Let's say you have high blood pressure, and the drug that works best for you is on the Canada's formulary . Congratulations, you win! But if you have a reaction to that drug, or if it doesn't work for you, or if it was too expensive for the government to buy, you lose.

While the American media flack for a Canadian-like takeover of pharmaceuticals here, they never mention all the Canadians who run south of the border to get the prescription drugs they can't get at home.

http://www.i2i.org/main/article.php?article_id=824

[Hallelujah]

I, for one, never felt like I really understood it. I could understand socialized medicine, because the idea is so simple, but this health care bill is a whole different creature.

It probably doesn't surprise anyone, but I didn't trust that the Republicans were accurately depicting the reality of what this health care bill really means. Well the same is true about the Democrats. I didn't trust that they were accurately depicting the reality of the bill either.

So what is the reality of this bill? I don't think anyone really knows, but the reality is coming, and it is going to be really interesting to watch and learn what this health care bill will really mean in our lives.

From what I understand and have been hearing for months:

Lowers healthcare costs - bends the cost curve down
Improves quality of care
Access for all Americans
Same healthcare coverage as members of congress
Premiums will go down
Government will not interfere with decisions between doctor and patient
Only the rich will get taxed more

So that is cool.

[RobinFinderson]

For brand name drugs Canada imposes price controls. They buy in bulk and the drug companies do this because marginally it costs less to produce and extra pill. Now are they always "way after"? obviously not only the sith deal in absolutes. However take this example



http://www.i2i.org/main/article.php?article_id=824

In the same way that I don't trust that democrats accurately represented the reality of the bill, I don't trust this dude's opinion piece about how the Canadian system operates. Are there case studies that quantify the delay of drugs to Canadian consumers?

[Hallelujah]

I don't really know what the reality is either. In some ways that is scary, as both a consumer and provider of health care. How much are my taxes going up? How much are reinbursements going down? Who knows. For the type of medicine I practice, people will still be showing up with injuries that need immediate treatment. I haven't ever asked anyone how they plan on paying for my services. Maybe this new system means I'll never have to worry about it. Maybe five years from now I'll be writing about switching careers and opening a new restaurant.

For Medicare patients, look for reimbursement to go down 21%. Probably in the October timeframe.

[RobinFinderson]

For Medicare patients, look for reimbursement to go down 21%. Probably in the October timeframe.

Obama takes a bite out of socialized medicine! Conservatives rejoice!

[Hallelujah]

That's what I'm expecting. I wouldn't mind so much if the government would also regulate my costs such as tuition, malpractice insurance, rent in my office, salaries I pay my staff. I suspect those costs will continue to rise.

Bingo. You're part of the problem. They don't want to touch malpractice. They could care less about your costs. They do care about how much money you make. You may have to adjust your patient mix.

In my opinion, fewer will go into medicine for those very reasons you stated. That will surely increase access for the masses.

[Hallelujah]

Doctors will benefit because of more patients? My clinic is already completely full. Our soonest follow up appt is 1 month away. New appts are four months.

We don't need more patients.

Another bingo! Just like other socialized countries. You have access to healthcare. You just have to wait and wait and wait.

And I believe it will get worse because the older docs these days are just going to say, screw this and retire (which I believe a recent study confirms).