Was anyone else struck...

[Yonivore]

Even if the healthcare is good, the fact that you pay so much makes it virtually inaccessible for so many people and thus almost redundant

The poor can walk into any emergency room in the country -- except, perhaps, for some elite liberal enclaves in California and New York -- and qualify for the same health care as the President of the United States.

Health care does cost money but, unlike Great Britain, we still have charity hospitals -- especially for children -- than will take patients regardless of ability to pay.

The alternative is bad health care for everyone except the elite who can build their own exclusive hospitals behind gates inaccessible to everyone but those they decide to allow in.

Tell me, does the Queen of England queue up for treatment?

[ChumpDumper]

Oh and BTW, that case went to court and it was ruled as neglect. The judge ruled that the hospital was liable under civil law (just like in America, surprise!). To boot, the staff in charge was plastered in the newspapers, and it forced changes at the hospital, instead of just a payout behind closed doors.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-18814487

There's a system we can learn a thing or two from.

Feh.

Now they need tort reform so the hospital can never be sued [/USA! USA!]

[ElNono]

Ask any doctor about the cost of complying with Medicare and Medicaid reporting. Many clinics and hospitals have enormous staffs just to handle paperwork.

that's how you back it up? (and the reason I asked is that I write medical systems for practices that handle exactly that, so I'm fairly familiar with HIPPA and that aspect of regulation).

Doctors perform risky treatments in order to save patients' lives. Sometimes those treatments fail. It's the one area where government would be welcome in protecting doctors from unnecessary lawsuits.

Oh, I see. This is a case where you're advocating for more, bigger government...

BTW, at last count, Tort reform estimates put them at savings between 0.5% and 0.3% of total healthcare spending, depending who you ask...

[Yonivore]

that's how you back it up? (and the reason I asked is that I write medical systems for practices that handle exactly that, so I'm fairly familiar with HIPPA and that aspect of regulation).

So, you're part of the problem of increased cost due to government regulation.

Oh, I see. This is a case where you're advocating for more, bigger government...

BTW, at last count, Tort reform estimates put them at savings between 0.5% and 0.3% of total healthcare spending, depending who you ask...

If you say so.

[ElNono]

And, When's the last time you saw the NHS donate $8 million in medical technology to an American Hospital.

The NHS saves every UK citizen about $4000 annually compared to the US, while providing care for every single one of their citizens...

I'll take that over a $8 million one time donation everytime...

[ChumpDumper]

So, you're part of the problem of increased cost due to government regulation.

And you're the solution!

If you say so.

He said who says so.

[ElNono]

So, you're part of the problem of increased cost due to government regulation.

I actually help them save money... I set no regulations, I can't be part of the problem.

If you say so.

Well, I didn't say so. I linked to different studies saying so.

[Yonivore]

I actually help them save money... I set no regulations, I can't be part of the problem.

Are you paid to help them save money complying with government regulations?

[AussieFanKurt]

Well, I didn't say so. I linked to different studies saying so.

Either he has nothing to say or gives you the win for this round

[ElNono]

Oh, he'll be back carrying water for the team soon enough...

[Yonivore]

Either he has nothing to say or gives you the win for this round

Or, it's too late to do my own research -- if I cared to.

[AussieFanKurt]

or that.. I guess

[ChumpDumper]

yoni's tort reform cost savings are faith based.

[George Gervin's Afro]

yoni's tort reform cost savings are faith based.

I'm still trying to connect the dots

[FromWayDowntown]

Or, it's too late to do my own research -- if I cared to.

The truth is rarely important in making arguments; feelings, belief, and surmise are always the better way to go.

[George Gervin's Afro]

The truth is rarely important in making arguments; feelings, belief, and surmise are always the better way to go.

I am torn at times on whether to go with stated facts or Yoni's un-researched opinions. I guess he was taught to not question what his beliefs were and was programmed to not critically think.

[Yonivore]

Government Drives Up Health Care Cost

Note that when the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) cut “Medicare costs” by 21 percent, they cut Medicare payments to providers. Therefore, they cut services to patients. As Robert Moffit of the Heritage Foundation testified before Congress, “you cannot get more of something by paying less for it.”

Meanwhile, the spending on – the costs of – the federal health care bureaucracy went up by six whole new agencies, hundreds (thousands?) of bureaucrats added to the payrolls, and mul housands of new rules and regulations.

Actually there were tens of thousands of employees added to the IRS, alone, to handle the bureaucracy created by Obamacare. Who knows what the final figure will be? Will the cost of the added bureaucracies and the shifting of medicare costs be calculated into the overall cost of health care?

As a doctor, I can charge whatever I like for a cardiac catheterization in a baby. The actual bill can read $2,000, $4,000 or as is commonly true, over $5,000. Regardless of my “price,” I get paid $387. That is what the government pays. So the price may seem steep, but the payment is peanuts.

So, costs on the insured and cash-paying customers is so high because health care providers have to compensate for the pittance they receive from the government-controlled medicare remittances.

For Medicare, just like for my caths, payments are now lower than the cost-of-staying-in-business. So if you want to know why you can no longer see your Medicare doctor, it is because the more Medicare patients she or he sees, the quicker the doctor goes broke.

Doctors Are Opting Out of Medicare

The prices may seem out of control or steep, but payments to providers are tiny and shrinking.

We were promised, If you like your doctor, you can keep him and if you like your insurance company, you can keep them. Neither of which is turning out to be true.

We were also promised Obamacare would lower the cost of health care and it's doing no such thing. In fact, Obamacare is going to cost three times as much as promised, over the next 10 years.

New Numbers Show ObamaCare Will Cost 3 Times More Than President Promised

It's the government, stupid.

[ElNono]

^ more garbage narratives followed by some boutons-style Tourette...

Let me remind you the claim you've yet to back up:

A good deal of the cost of medical care is found in regulatory compliance

The ACA being a piece of is well-known, you won't get an argument about that here.