profiting off of health care is immoral. so disappointed that the USA can't figure this shit out
this post was submitted on 31 Aug 2023
232 points (97.9% liked)
politics
19080 readers
4821 users here now
Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!
Rules:
- Post only links to articles, Title must fairly describe link contents. If your title differs from the site’s, it should only be to add context or be more descriptive. Do not post entire articles in the body or in the comments.
Links must be to the original source, not an aggregator like Google Amp, MSN, or Yahoo.
Example:
- Articles must be relevant to politics. Links must be to quality and original content. Articles should be worth reading. Clickbait, stub articles, and rehosted or stolen content are not allowed. Check your source for Reliability and Bias here.
- Be civil, No violations of TOS. It’s OK to say the subject of an article is behaving like a (pejorative, pejorative). It’s NOT OK to say another USER is (pejorative). Strong language is fine, just not directed at other members. Engage in good-faith and with respect! This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.
- No memes, trolling, or low-effort comments. Reposts, misinformation, off-topic, trolling, or offensive. Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.
- Vote based on comment quality, not agreement. This community aims to foster discussion; please reward people for putting effort into articulating their viewpoint, even if you disagree with it.
- No hate speech, slurs, celebrating death, advocating violence, or abusive language. This will result in a ban. Usernames containing racist, or inappropriate slurs will be banned without warning
We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.
All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.
That's all the rules!
Civic Links
• Congressional Awards Program
• Library of Congress Legislative Resources
• U.S. House of Representatives
Partnered Communities:
• News
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
I don't mind nurses and doctors making enough to live a nice life because it will ensure we have enough nurses and doctors in the future.
What I mind is people who provide no benefit to patients sitting between them and the care providers, taking a cut off the top for doing fuck all.
Every time I see an advertisement for health insurance I wonder who got their coverage denied to pay for it.
ETA: I finished the article and this is the worst part of it:
Dr. Christianne Heck, a neurologist specializing in epilepsy with Keck Medicine of the University of Southern California, said her health system has a team of professionals dedicated to appealing denials
So we've got a team of highly educated and motivated people whose sole job is to help people appeal denials to health care that medical professionals have advised.
What a tremendous waste of human talent. All of those people could be working to care for people, or building something useful. Instead we waste millions of dollars and entire human lives fighting against an impenetrable system designed to prevent health care from happening.
What a fucking stupid country.
I mind, because each and every doctor I've seen regarding my chronic pain I've been dealing with for over 5 years has refused to diagnose me, and every appointment I've been recommended anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medication, which are not solutions.
From my perspective, most doctors don't seem to do shit, they just listen and try to sell the trendiest, most profitable drug for Big Pharma. If I could find an actual, legitimate doctor, maybe my opinion would change, but I've been left to suffer by the only people that are supposed to be able to help. It's gotten bad enough to where I went to an emergency room, and they still did nothing, except try to prescribe more drugs.
I see it as a huge scam. A major scheme. It doesn't seem to just be insurance companies, but even the doctors themselves seem to be full of shit.
While not always true, keep in mind as Doctor will likely lean towards things your insurance will actually pay for.
I've been recommended allergy medications and prescribed allergy medications for years. Anything beyond that I'm pretty sure the insurance won't pay for. I'm pretty sure I paid out of pocket just to get a damn Allergy test.
It could still be the Doctor, don't get me wrong. But don't count out the insurance.
If you want to get mad and simultaneously have your mind blown, read Bullshit Jobs. The last chapter in particular has a decent chunk dedicated to why the state refuses to change the way our healthcare system works outside of "because it makes the rich richer". David Graeber's work has only become more true in the years succeeding
I've read everything Graeber's written. They're all fantastic. Glad to see others promoting it!
Aw hell yeah! I found him earlier this year, I'm currently reading The Dawn of Everything. It's an incredible book. I can't wait to dive into the rest of his work
Oh, the wealthy in the US have it figured out perfectly.
--checks laws for morality clauses--
huh looks like that doesn't actually matter. Surely you meant profitability
/s
In the context of insurance, absolutely.
When it comes to health care delivery (clinics, hospitals, etc), you have to define more of what you mean. These places need to make a little money on the care they provide because they need to buy new equipment when the old stuff dies, fix the roof, repair stuff, etc. If those places are not making a profit, they will eventually die.
Now if you mean a profit that goes to anything but maintaining the ability to deliver care (e.g. shareholders), that is despicable. There is no place for shareholders in a healthcare company.
That is why Medicare can administer funds cheaper than an insurance company. No shareholders!
Insurance is a huge scam. I hate it.
For starters, she said bluntly, “we know everything is going to get denied.” It’s almost a given, she said, that the insurer will lose the first batch of records. “We often have to send records two or three times before they finally admit they actually received them. … They play all of these kinds of delaying games.”
Fucking evil. We need health care reform now. You can't morally justify playing with people's lives like this. The suits running investment firms that own the hospitals and the suits running the insurance companies will keep cancer treatment from a child because they want to spend their winters in Tahiti and their summers in Patagonia. We have to make this stop.
This happened to me twice. First, when I applied for long-term disability insurance through the insurer that my employer used. Second, when I applied for SSDI.
I am convinced that there is a policy of "losing" or "not receiving" documentation in order to discourage the patient from continuing to pursue their claim.
I have only managed to succeed because I retained an attorney (two, actually--one for the private insurance and one for SSDI). As a disabled person with limited ability to handle these things myself, I never would have been able to win the insurance money that I deserved. As the system intends.
An insurance's purpose is to cover you for unpredictable circumstance
A for profit insurance's job is to not pay you for as long as inhumanely possible
But you have to have insurance because the alternative is financial ruin, even if you could still be financially ruined either way.
Yeah. In case anyone was wondering, the down payment on a surgery to remove a cancerous tumor near your heart is $100,000. Cash, or no surgery for you. The tumor is growing fast, so you only have a few days to come up with the money.
That's all because the insurance company said the surgery wasn't necessary. Or maybe it was too experimental. I forget. Some family members with high paying jobs managed to come up with the money, and my uncle got to live a few more years. I'm sure not everyone is that lucky. And why on God's green earth should it have to come down to luck?
Insurance changed their mind after a long appeal. I think it took 1-2 years.
Insurance is for something that might happen. Everyone will experience health problems. It's a contradictory situation at its very core.