Cost Conundrum

[Rascal]

What can be learned from McAllen Texas??? A lot.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande?currentPage=all

[JJJ]

Great, great article. The art of journalism isn't completely lost it seems. About the most unbiased piece of work I have read in a long time. Really interesting and shows how tough pricing services such as medical care really is.

Still think higher deductibles is a decent way to go despite what was said in the article.

[Spider]

totally unrelated but last year my Company aka Complete energy , paid over 6 million $ in 2010 due to work related injuries , this year , not even half a million so far , they are Safety hawks 1st thing treat the injury right away medical treatment right away , and oddly enough they want full rehabilitation period fulfilled before coming back to work ......but they spend so much money trainin a guy cause their safety record is #1 on the list ...........

[chadta]

Very nice find, +rep

I think Canada has the exact same problems with health care costs up here, I mean its scarry just how much of that article could be about any hospital in Canada.

We arent even talking about it tho, everybody just hopes its going to magically go away. The cure for everything up here is never to cut costs, its all about increasing revenue. Few years ago we got hit with a $1500 per year healthcare premium (not a tax) and then added "eco fees" to things that already actually get recycled, (once again not a tax) but we are still running a deficit.

I like socialized medicine, i dont like the waste, and the ridiculous costs associated with it right now tho. A user fee is needed because up here at least the problem is as much the doctors getting extra tests, as it is the people going to the doctors for stupid stuff. Would you go see the doctor for that cough if it was going to cost you 50 bucks ? probably not. But is 50 bucks really enough to keep you away when its serious ?

An ambulance ride up here is 75 bucks, people wihtout cars dont take the ambulance to the hospital for coughs, but have no problem calling it when they really need it. To me that works perfect.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

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[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

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