I used to sell Med Supps, and made $2,000-3,000 off 2 hours work. I then realized this is why health care is so pricey. Your health is business and treating you is dependent on the insurance company making a profit. With so many rules to learn, and plans, and lobbyists, and big businessmen getting rich, it's no wonder getting health care is such a pain.

The poor already have free healthcare, if you don't care about your credit then health care is free. We've also got a large portion of the middle class that can't afford health care because of the rapidly rising costs. What happens when they go in for an emergency? They can't afford to pay the bill, go bankrupt and then they've got free health care too.

So, who ends up paying for it? The people with insurance pay for it with higher premiums and tax payers pay for it through subsidies.

What would be wrong with calling a duck a duck? Fund all health care through taxes instead of splitting it with tax and insurance. That's the only way to get everyone to pay at least a portion of their fair share.

That huge portion of the middle class population now pays for health care through their taxes. The working poor pay too. The only ones still getting a "free ride" are the ones that aren't working at all. And if you're not working, do you really think "free" health care is a huge luxury in your life?

I think the change in take home pay with the huge influx in money going into the system by "forcing" everyone to pay for health care in tax dollars would be a pleasant surprise to most people.

If you've got health care coverage, you're already paying for "the poor people's" health care. What's wrong with forcing them to chip in?

Like it or not it's the same Govt. DC and they are going to blow your money if you get something for it or not. I say we should get something for it. Not sure how getting something for your money relates to being a socialist but hey.... your heroin socialized medicine analogy pretty much says it all...maybe if you ever get in a health care bind you can call Rush to help out hear he's got access to some good meds..

"I don't quite understand how the govt. is good enough to fight wars, etc. but not good enough to save us from a health care system that is quickly going the way of the lovely banking system and the big 3."

I must have missed the news about the health care industry and all the bailout money they are asking for. The health care industry is not the banking system, nor is it the big 3.

I doubt that you have ever read The Constitution but it is the government's job to fight wars not run heath care systems.

Also I have never USED heroin but I know it’s bad for me. Socialized medicine is BAD.

Trust me for those of you who are pining for the medical care of The UK and Canada. I am an American who lives in London. I have fought to get basic medicine prescribed to me and still been denied my long term Asthma meds as too expensive. Here cancer patients are having to take their local trusts to court to try to get life saving meds because they are classed as too expensive. The UK has the lowest cancer survival rate in the western world. American medicine does need a change. But do not look to the UK as your guide.

I believe that the FDA, AMA and drug companies and docs are in cahoots to keep the cost of health care very high. each cancer patient is worth at least $500,000 and they aren't about to give that up. There are cures for cancer besides chemo and radiation. germany does heat, a new one is heating a tiny piece of metal in a tumor, and there are supplements that cause the cancer to kill itself (atopsis), so lets yell loud and clear to all who will listen to stop the spread of disease that is so profitable. Flouride causes cancer and slow metablosim ( knew that in the 1800s) so why is it in our water? to provide a way for chemcial companies to dispose of flouride (by product) instead of paying to get rid of it. and we love flouride. does no one think any more? or do any research on the intenet? read Dr Blaylock (nutrition MD, neuro surgeon ) who has a nutritional practice and learn.

Yeah, the government would be super at healthcare, look at England...up to 4 hr wait for an ambulance. No, leave it private. Require proof of US citizenship. Look at SO Cal ER's, enought PC already! Remember government said that madcow would not jump to humans?

It is true that people use the Emergency Department for things other than emergencies, but I think alot of patients feel they have no other choice. Even if you call your PCP for an appointment, they can't fit you in until 3 weeks from Tuesday! We have a lack of preventative and primary care, as well as structured health education. When a person is trying to determine wether or not they should go to an ER, they look up their symptoms on the internet and then "diagnose" themselves with a life threatening condition. This is most often not the case. EMTALA prevents ER's from turning anyone away without a medical screening exam by a physician. Otherwise, they are slapped with HUGE fines. Even if someone was just discharged 10 minutes ago and they turn around and come back to the ER to be seen again, a doctor has to see them. This results in homeless, indigent, and mentally ill patients coming back again and again and abusing the system. Most of those patients have healthcare paid for by you and me in the form of tax dollars and higher insurance premiums. I think development of other services to treat chronic conditions will ease the clogged up ER's, but EMTALA reform is also needed. Hospitals cannot survive without money. We have some of the best healthcare in the world, but it costs money. Nurses, Doctors, Rad techs, housekeepers, administrators, med techs all need payment for the job they do. CT scanners, MRI, and Ultrasound cost money. Healthcare is not free, even in "socialized" medicine systems. It takes money to keep the doors open.

Clark,
I have listened to you for years and you are usually on target, however, you missed a major point of the article. This is done for FREE OR DISCOUNTED CARE only. If you have insurance, you will be seen. If you are truly destitute, then you will seen. Many people think or feel they should have free care because it is their right. Please do not confuse the issue any more than it already is.

For those who have commented that people use the ER for non-emergencies, part of the reason is that there is no incentive not to for patients on medicaid/public assitance. For these patients, there is no co-pay or deductible whether they go to the ER or their doctor. Why wait for an appointment when the ER is open all of the time and often you get test results back much faster. Patients with insurance often have deductibles that discourage them from going to the ER, and many uninsured know that it is more expensive to receive care in the ER, but with medicaid, the cost of the care does not impact the patient in the least. Since medicaid pays only a very small portion of the costs (for example, a visit that requires 30-45 minutes of a physician time will, in my state, pay the physician only about $20, and the cost of just the malpractice for this visit is higher than this, not to mention the costs of the billing staff and the cost of dictating the medical record). The only way to continue to make a living is to charge the patient with insurance a much larger amount to make up the difference.
All of this is a result of the funding mechanisms that the government has put in place and forced physicians into. Physicians would love to change this system, but the government seems to just get more and more involved. If you have less government involved (less regulation, liability, and distortion of actual costs versus charges versus the reimbursement amount), the uninsured and insured patients will benefit the most because they will be paying less for the care of other people and rather, will only be paying for their own care.

I'm amazed at the lack of understanding of healthcare economics shown in the comments posted here. As an emergency physician, let me give you my perspective. First of all, emergency departments are required by a federal regulation called EMTALA to provide a medical screening exam to anyone who comes to the emergency department. The consequences for violating this are stiff. Hospitals do not have access to the insurance information of a patient before they arrive to the hospital, and therefore the comment from mljhouse makes no sense. Emergency departments may have to go on "diversion", meaning that they will not accept any ambulances at all because either the emergency department volume or acuity has reached a dangerous level or because there are no inpatient beds for patients. Being on "diversion" means that no patients, insured or not, are accepted by ambulances and the patients need to be taken somewhere else. This is a result of the inadequate funding of emergency departments and their staffing because of the immense costs posed by EMTALA.

From above:
"Meanwhile, new figures show that the instance of cancer has had its first recorded drop ever. Let's hope this is a turning point and not just a statistical aberration.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anytime the word "cancer" is used as an all inclusive word, I have lots of doubts - we don't consider all cancers to be equal in any sense of the word.

Think of the bill of goods that we have all been sold that lead up to the current economic condition of the U.S.
Do you really think that the (all inclusive) medical community is above tweeking data for financial advantage - for profit and non-profit?

Think of all the fadish treatments, test, expert treatment facilities that have come and gone. The health/medical conglomerant can scare you into their profit or non-profit pockets.

Talk about thrift, I use the emergency philosophy for my medical care judgement - If there is an emergency, I will seek medical attention but then again, they will only be allowed to fix what can be (provenly) fixed otherwise I've made my decision for care, test, treatments, medicines and the like.

I've got insurance with Rx coverage - can't remember the last time I used it. None of us are gonna live forever and my quality of life has a value above all else.

Can you tell us which hospitals are doing this. If you name names, that might shame them. We'll also know to avoid them.

It's getting to the point where only the very very wealthy will be able to afford medical care in this country. Talk about class warfare. Even having a well known and finacially stable insurance carrier is no longer a sure thing for getting your medical bills paid. The deductables are getting so high that your out of pocket expense will kill you if the hosipital doesn't.

There is absolutely no reason for the cost of healthcare to be what it is. You can work the best 30 years of your life to own a $150,000 dollar home and loose it in a week in the hospital.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lead7-2009jan07,0,6917858.story