DOGE

[Isaac]

Yes, I acknowledge that when it comes to the "simply setting a maximum rate by law" in an unthinking manner, wihtout considering every possible aspect..........it's quite possible that Medicare may be doing some of that, and like you said, that's why not all Doctors accept it. (oddly, I've also found doctors who quit taking insurance to focus only on their Medicare patients, but I'm not sure the reasoning behind it).

We need some damn smart solutions to this thorny problem. I personally crave the attention/listening/thoroughness/time that a Mexico doctor will give me, along with the technology and advanced treatments found in Europe or the USA, along with drug prices and patent situations that disallow billions to be made from a new drug without competition.......I want it all at once!

 

[Isaac]

Every medium sized city used to have at least one charity hospital. Many were run by religious orders. They've been gone for years. I had two surgeries at the Catholic charity hospital as a child. Near as I can tell, the treatment was good and the nuns were very kind and caring.

Yes, many people forget the major hospitals were and are run by organized religion, including the total charity ones.
Mexico still has those - they aren't total charity, but they're extremely cheap, run by churches and local Catholic organizations.

 

[moke123]

they aren't total charity, but they're extremely cheap, run by churches and local Catholic organizations.

My aunt quit her order because she wanted to treat the poor while the convent wanted to capitalize on her medical degree.

 

[Isaac]

That's very generous of her, I guess $$ concerns seeps in everywhere.
I'm so admiring of my aunts and uncles - most of them went into the catholic church, we didn't we were protestant, but they were so genuine in their faith, and spent their ENTIRE lives, all day every day, just helping people for absolutely nothing in return. Some in Columbia, poor parts of Mississippi, and the middle of nowhere in Wisconsin and Illinois. I admire people with that level of giving/committing.
Your Aunt sounds like that

 

[Pat Hartman]

I've also found doctors who quit taking insurance to focus only on their Medicare patients, but I'm not sure the reasoning behind it).

They are most likely doctors because they actually want to help people so they're not in it for the money.

If you notice, I NEVER suggested price controls, including what Medicare does. What I suggested was OPEN PRICING. That way the patient can shop around at least for non emergency situations. Granted, this goes both ways as you know if you've ever been asked to quote a fixed price for a project. You ALWAYS over estimate because you know what can go wrong and you know that the client is going to expect at least some level of "free" changes. So, even the fixed price can't technically be fixed.

I had a hernia operation 3 years ago. My doctor had been telling me for years, if it isn't bothering you, don't worry about it so I didn't. Until it bothered me and it needed to be fixed. The surgeon said the surgery would take about 1.5 hours. Instead it took 6. It appears that I should have worried about the hernia much earlier even though it wasn't bothering me since all that time, more of my intestines were finding their way outside the abdominal wall. If you have a hernia, don't wait. Get it fixed sooner rather than later. That's my medical advice and I'm stickin' to it.

 

[Steve R.]

 

[AccessBlaster]

The Clinton Foundation and USAID were both knee-deep in Haiti’s earthquake recovery after 2010, working on the same projects and run by many of the same people. But while all that money was pouring into Haiti with not much to show for it, hardly anyone noticed Chelsea Clinton living it up and throwing a wedding that cost a fortune.

 

[Pat Hartman]

I don't think the picture is accurate. I'm pretty sure the Republicans are on this gravy train also. They're just a little more subtle about it.

 

[Steve R.]

I don't think the picture is accurate. I'm pretty sure the Republicans are on this gravy train also. They're just a little more subtle about it.

The Republicans controlled the US House of Representatives beginning in January 2023, but failed to reign in Democratic financial grift, which DOGE is finally exposing. This was particularly galling, following the November 2024 election, where the Republicans had the opportunity to reduce government spending (even if it meant shutting down the government) but failed to do so. Now, DOGE has exposed Republican failures at examining government spending to reduce waste and fraud, particularly by Democrats. The Republicans have been complicit in giving Democrats the money they needed to undermine the government through money laundering and unjustly attacking Trump.

 

[moke123]

That's very generous of her, I guess $$ concerns seeps in everywhere.
I'm so admiring of my aunts and uncles - most of them went into the catholic church, we didn't we were protestant, but they were so genuine in their faith, and spent their ENTIRE lives, all day every day, just helping people for absolutely nothing in return. Some in Columbia, poor parts of Mississippi, and the middle of nowhere in Wisconsin and Illinois. I admire people with that level of giving/committing.
Your Aunt sounds like that

She went into the convent young and spent most of her time a missionary in the jungles of Columbia and Nicaragua. I barely knew her until my early teens. She went to med school in Mexico and ran jungle hospitals.

 

[AngelSpeaks]

Yes, I acknowledge that when it comes to the "simply setting a maximum rate by law" in an unthinking manner, wihtout considering every possible aspect..........it's quite possible that Medicare may be doing some of that, and like you said, that's why not all Doctors accept it. (oddly, I've also found doctors who quit taking insurance to focus only on their Medicare patients, but I'm not sure the reasoning behind it).

We need some damn smart solutions to this thorny problem. I personally crave the attention/listening/thoroughness/time that a Mexico doctor will give me, along with the technology and advanced treatments found in Europe or the USA, along with drug prices and patent situations that disallow billions to be made from a new drug without competition.......I want it all at once!

Medicare always pays and reimbursement is a lot more than Medicaid. Three doctors in the family. My BIL, the doctor, has two brothers and a sister in law who are doctors. BIL got to the point where he and his partner would not accept new Medicaid patients. They kept current patients who ended up on Medicaid. Eventually, even though the state of Illinois was over a year behind in reimbursements demanded that he and his partner not only accept new Medicaid patients but expand their hours or nothing, so they went with nothing, dropped their Medicaid patients and then Medicaid was going to let them continue as before but they said no. Before anyone accuses them of greed, the only place for hours expansion, besides Sunday, BIL is a devout Catholic, was Monday afternoon when the office closed for a few hours so the doctors could make house calls. Yes, house calls. They had a lot of elderly patients who had trouble coming to the office.

And some commercial insurance is horrible with low rates and reimbursement.

 

[Pat Hartman]

Wow. Doctors who make house calls. What a concept. The new version is video calls which are better then nothing.

 

[AngelSpeaks]

Wow. Doctors who make house calls. What a concept. The new version is video calls which are better then nothing.

Yep. Then Obamacare made it impossible for his practice so he sold to a large organization and they stopped the house calls.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

What if we created some fantastic legal/financial gizmo that actually incentivized hospitals and clinics to somehow answer to their patients in a more cooperative (i.e. co-op) manner, I wonder if that would help or is even possible. I have no idea how.

It's called a malpractice suit. States want to end such suits and/or limit liability with urging from insurance companies. Nothing gets a hospital wound up quite so much as a patient with a good lawyer and the threat "Treat me right or I'll own you. Or my estate will."