Modern Healthcare

Discussion in 'The Thunderdome' started by NorrisAlan, May 18, 2016.

  1. NorrisAlan

    NorrisAlan Founder of the Mike Honcho Fan Club

    This story struck me hard this morning, as I see my in-laws going through a similar problem. And I will not lie, I have worried that something like this might happen in Kingsport.

    http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/17/us/florida-man-arrested-wifes-death-medications/index.html

    I know most of this board is right-leaning, but surely there must be something that moves people more towards a single payer system, no? Or are there systems in place already that would make the above story not a tragedy, and this 86 year old man just didn't know about them?

    Healthcare is not like food. You can decide not to eat ribeye and lobster every night, and go to simpler, less expensive foods. But you cannot decide not to take Makeyoubrokerall and take aspirin instead. Unless you want to just die, that is. And I have often pondered the philosophical issues with the extension of life beyond what is "natural", but that might be another thread.
     
  2. droski

    droski Traffic Criminal

    Heath costs and risks are something that needs to be saved and prepared for just like buying insurance to make sure your house doesn't burn down or saving money for retirement. I'd be interested to know if he has a Medicare supplement plan which closes most of that donut hole and does factor in income.
     
  3. NorrisAlan

    NorrisAlan Founder of the Mike Honcho Fan Club

    My in-laws saved and saved and saved. They have just about shot their entire savings after being retired for 25 years.
     
  4. IP

    IP Super Moderator

    The current system is designed to transfer wealth from the public to the industry. It's working as intended, as far as I can tell.
     
  5. NorrisAlan

    NorrisAlan Founder of the Mike Honcho Fan Club

    And my wife and I are currently working, and she takes medicines that, AFTER insurance, cost a shit ton of money. I don't know how people on fixed incomes, who are 85 years old, do it.
     
  6. IP

    IP Super Moderator

    The system isn't designed to care about financial outcomes. The system needs to be destroyed.
     
  7. kptvol

    kptvol Super Moderator

    Not to sound insensitive to anyone's plight, but people need to reassess 65 as some sort of ultimate end to all occupations.
     
  8. droski

    droski Traffic Criminal

    Which is regrettable, but is it any different if their house requires tens of thousands of dollars of repairs? Also they and the person in this article are on Medicare which is already a govt run, basically single payer system. What makes you think that the people in this article would be paying less with a single payer?
     
  9. NorrisAlan

    NorrisAlan Founder of the Mike Honcho Fan Club

    I already have.

    But our parent's generation do not have the luxury (already being 75+ and in poor health). And there will come a time, no matter what, that you just cannot hold down a 40 hour a week job. You will be too tired, too uncaring, too, well, old.
     
  10. kptvol

    kptvol Super Moderator

    I'm glad you have. Not many others have. It's like the plan is to just not live very long. And I think the number of people who sit down and think about how much they are saving a year, how much they need a year to live, and how long they have until retirement, then do some basic math to see if that's feasible is minuscule. Like 2% of the population.
     
  11. NorrisAlan

    NorrisAlan Founder of the Mike Honcho Fan Club

    How often does a home require 10k's in repair, short of a disaster? How often does that happen? Everyone gets old and sick and dies. It is inevitable. I don't imagine most people late in their life have to make major remodeling or repairs to their homes.

    And why wouldn't they be paying less? The rest of the world doesn't pay jack-shit near what we pay in our great system. I know, I know, I know, we supplement the whole world, we have the best blah blah blah. Sorry, but I don't believe it. Medical costs have been going up faster than inflation by orders of magnitude for 20 years. And I still have not seen one reason why this is how it should be.
     
  12. droski

    droski Traffic Criminal

    I just had an 85 year old client spend $20k on needed house repairs who is going to run out of money in 6-10 years.

    Because Medicare is already in place, run by the govt, with the supposed magnitude and pricing ability of a single payer.
     
  13. droski

    droski Traffic Criminal

    But you are acting like these people are left out in the street. They aren't. What you are really complaining about is people spending their savings which doesn't seem overly horrible to me. That's what savings are for.
     
  14. NorrisAlan

    NorrisAlan Founder of the Mike Honcho Fan Club

    And the rest of your clients? Yet they all get old, all get cancer, all need by-pass, all need medicines to keep their livers from imploding, all need a knee replaced.

    And Medicare is only one, albeit significant, part of the big healthcare pie. Why have medical costs gone up so much since 1980 vs inflation?

    [​IMG]

    Now, I know the standard answer will be regulation, government impeding progress, crony insurance limitations. But why is medical costs singular in this vs standard inflation? Everyone knows my knowledge of economics can be measured in a thimble, but it just doesn't make sense to me.
     
  15. NorrisAlan

    NorrisAlan Founder of the Mike Honcho Fan Club

    Of course. 20 years ago, my in-laws were not spending any money on themselves, saving it for "inheritance". It made me angry. I don't want a damn dime from them.

    But now, my father-in-law is looking at having to put my mother-in-law into a home (Alzheimer's) and he just fell and broke both his wrist and his hip in two separate falls two weeks apart. They are nearly out of money. They will have to sell their house (yes, what that is for, so I am not worried about that). But then what? They will be completely broke, save their pension and social security. God forbid something else come up.

    Again, I just don't understand the costs.

    [​IMG]
     
  16. droski

    droski Traffic Criminal

    The major part of the problem is we didn't have people living this long 30 years ago. Half of these issues (hip replacements, cancer at 80 etc) weren't costing us and your in laws money because they'd be dead. I'm not suggesting there are zero programs with our healthcare system, but I also don't see why we should be paying for other people who still have assets. Statistically the old are still by far the richest people in this country.
     
  17. NorrisAlan

    NorrisAlan Founder of the Mike Honcho Fan Club

    Do you complain about paying for other people to drive on the roads you are paying for? I don't understand this aversion to everyone chipping in and joining together to pay for a service that everyone will need. We are not paying for 10% of the population to have caviar every night. We are all chipping in, sharing the load for something we all need.
     
  18. droski

    droski Traffic Criminal

    Sure I complain about paying for lots of things like that. The baby boomer generation is the richest in American history and is leaving more inheritance than any generation in American history by far. why should the young and comparatively poor have to pay for them? we already have in place a system that pays for people without zero resources. what else is needed?
     
    Last edited: May 18, 2016
  19. The Dooz

    The Dooz Super Moderator

    First day here at the 8th, huh?
     
  20. fl0at_

    fl0at_ Humorless, asinine, joyless pr*ck

    Which is why upon death, government should swoop in and reclaim all devices, and viable organs and tissues from the deceased in order to re-enter the sharing and caring pool.

    They can give back whatever is left for burial and all that sentimental nonsense.
     

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