dagblog - Comments for "Medicare for All: still krazy after all these years"

New HELP bill chooses price

artappraiser — Wed, 19 Jun 2019 23:30:53 +0000

In reply to Medicare for All: still krazy after all these years

New HELP bill chooses price setting as its solution to resolving surprise medical bills. Like the House E&C bill, it would require payment of a median in-network rate. https://t.co/z1OHLkDdfc
— Margot Sanger-Katz (@sangerkatz) June 19, 2019

Unsurprisingly, the providers do not enjoy the committee’s choice of a benchmark payment rate for out-of-network care. Here’s part of the statement from the AHA. pic.twitter.com/ROAyi7HExi
— Margot Sanger-Katz (@sangerkatz) June 19, 2019

And here’s the ER docs (ACEP) pic.twitter.com/02dcKJRjCH
— Margot Sanger-Katz (@sangerkatz) June 19, 2019

Granted ,no small print, but

artappraiser — Wed, 19 Jun 2019 03:36:08 +0000

In reply to Medicare for All: still krazy after all these years

Granted ,no small print, but this sounds like medical heaven:

When I lived in Iceland, I found a lump. I had no idea how to navigate finding a doctor, so I went to our show's production manager.

Me: I found a lump. Can you help me find a doctor?
PM: Just go to the cancer center.
Me: Okay. How do a get a referral?
PM: What's a referral?
— Mary Robinette Kowal (@MaryRobinette) June 3, 2019

Oh BTW, since I just looked

artappraiser — Tue, 18 Jun 2019 08:54:55 +0000

In reply to Medicare for All: still krazy after all these years

Oh BTW, since I just looked it up for a friend who's wife is having serious heart surgery and who has just plain vanilla Medicare without supplemental, Medicare.gov finally put up a nice clear page outlining what seniors currently get and how much it costs, after a lifetime of paying in, I might add:

https://www.medicare.gov/your-medicare-costs/medicare-costs-at-a-glance

Of particular interest to this friend was the $1,364 deductible you have to kick in for hospitalization per year, and should things go bad, the $341 per day you have to kick in past day 60 and the $682 per day after day 90.

There's useful info. on how much they charge people who haven't paid in enough to get the full (free) subsidy on inpatient hospitalization coverage as per above: If you paid Medicare taxes for less than 30 quarters, the standard Part A premium is $437 per month.

Part B, doctors other providers and equipment: $135.50 per month premium minimum, or more, sliding scale based on income. Deductible of $185 per year, and 20% of everything after that.

That's without prescription drugs, the plans vary and are complex, you have to click through. She doesn't have one, no coverage.

Easy to see how some seniors getting like $1,500 a month in Social Security are going bankrupt....

Glad to see this. Back before

artappraiser — Tue, 18 Jun 2019 08:32:00 +0000

In reply to Medicare for All: still krazy after all these years

Glad to see this. Back before Obamacare was passed I remember many discussions where I was made out the party pooping bogeyman for saying things like Obamacare was not gonna be manna from heaven and Medicare for all unchanged might fuel some major money-driven medicine problems....

That said, more and more I think many providers may be past a breaking point where they don't fuckin care what people understand or what they don't and just want somebody to DO SOMETHING DO FUCKING SOMETHING., ANYTHING, OR WE ARE MOVING TO ANOTHER COUNTRY.

So I wasn't surprised to see this the other day:

The largest nurses’ union in the U.S. is pushing Medicare for all from door to door to door in swing House districts https://t.co/LInfIIl1Nd
— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 16, 2019