Political Economy

National health care is bad – a personal experience

With health care people are looking at the benefit side, like it is all free. The real story is, it cost more than it helps. Let me explain.

Must read – Examples of how government health care fails

This is the way I see it. The people in my condo complex, living in the unit below me are on disability and smoke two packs a day and I think drink too. The lady down the street is also is taking money from he government and has free government medical. She has 1/2 million in the bank, a house paid off worth 350,000 dollars and out in her yard gardening. Explain to me how, I working my tail off and using my creativity has to pay for their health and benefits, when I have a family to support?

  • More people than you can imagine, cheat the system a little and it is unfair and unjust

I beg someone to explain that do me?

When I prepared taxes this season for extra money, I saw repeatedly the same type of thing. People who were in better health than me, collecting from the government and benefits connected to medical. I have health issues and I pay insurance, would go to the free clinic or pay cash. I do think medical care needs reform, but man, enter government and you enter abuse like I mentioned above. Not a little but a lot.

free medical care
Instead of a blanket plan from Washington, it would be better if people including state or government agencies supported and helped medical clinics for the poor. This is a free medical clinic in my town of St. Augustine, Florida. It covers everything except surgery of course.

A personal lesson in health care and cost

I have had a brain lesion, just bleeding in my pons, nothing serious. It has caused me great pain and suffering. But the truth is nothing in conventional medical care helped, except in the diagnosis. I will not die from it just a pain in the neck so to speak. On the other hand, the natural things I have tried have helped a lot. I had to try natural healing for savings of cost. I take things like anti-oxidants and exercise and do yoga and breathing for pain. I go to the doctor when needed, but change in diet and lifestyle worked magic in reducing the symptoms.

In contrast, my friend who has something similar has more money and is taking the VIP route, takes high-powered medications and considering a gamma knife. He is addicted to the medication and waiting for his doctor to heal him. I think after several years now I am healing he is not. Explain this to me? Throwing money at an issue does not solve problems.

Think of all the people who got spinal fusion twenty years ago,  and now the conventional wisdom is to exercise,  unless you are crawling into the doctor’s office.

My point is, when people take more responsiblity for their own personal health, it is better for them and for the system.

My experience in a socialist country with medical care

I lived in socialist Europe and I admit, I like some level of healthcare for the poor and children, but it was horrible care. Silver filings for teeth and high radiation x-rays for the brain instead of safe MRIs. It was poor medical care in almost all cases, with exceptions. The people were rude and the care was all procedures and documents. I felt lost in the maze.

In contrast private health care was clean and cheap. The US needs reform, in terms of market reforms not government reforms. The more free market it can be the better as the cost will be less.  Think of perception contact lenses and how the price has fallen with less government, as has phone charges. Remember the old days?

How much does medical care cost if you shop arround?

I had ten staples in my head from a fall, and it cost be 35 dollars to get it removed.  That is not a lot of money, from a doctor who spent 45 minutes examining me and from a good clinic, I paid cash.

I mean explain to me how these people get away with it when I have health issues and I work my butt off?  Because when the government gets involved it is not good for the health of the individual or the nation. I try to do natural healing and take care of myself, while the people on government health smoke their lives away and never leave the house except to get more cans of brew-haha. It is unfair I pay and support their actions.

I did just get a 1,300 dollar bill from the hopsital and will have to think how the heck I can pay that.

Government regulation slows or stops healing

Another example is, I can not get medicine from Europe I might need because of the FDA. The drug I need works and is effective, but the FDA for some reason keeps it out. The neurologist in Europe that prescribed it really saved me.  He was an Army doctor who treated veterans with injuries from shells in Iraq.  He was an amazing doctor. He was a very old doctor, by the way and worked out of his living room. A guy like that would be retired in the USA or could not do business in his house. Dr. Grzgorz Gardela is a genius and in less regulated Europe in the private sector, he really helped people.

I went also to the best University government supported hospital and they did nothing.

If I need to get that drug again, I need to jump though a lot of hoops in the USA because of the government, I called  a score of government offices until I gave up. In Europe in th private sector, it is a lot easier for whatever reason. I think it is politics. I know it is politics.

National health and personal health free market solution

Nothing beats taking care of yourself for health care. Yes we can have a safety net for the real poor and children, via a negative income tax or something.  I mean of course if someone has something horrible, help them. But also promote free medical clinics. There is one down my street and they do dental also. But treating illness the old fashion way with regulation, and government payments, is not optimal for your health or the health of the nation.

If we introduce social medical care, think of all the people who will milk the system and in a sense hurt themselves. It will happen.

Related Posts

Posted

in

by

Mark Biernat

This is my Youtube Channel: EconLessons

Comments

10 responses to “National health care is bad – a personal experience”

  1. Plasticmoney888

    “If we introduce social medical care, think of all the people who will milk the system”

    Mark you have pointed out good observations from personal experiences.

    I also do think a safety net is an absolute need in a civilized society but what is going on now is a travesty.

    I think it is totally out of control.

    Billions of dollars are diverted from Government to the medical industrial complex that does not have to compete. The billing in a hospital Trauma Centers would give you a additional trauma. It can run in the million plus dollars in two or three weeks. It’s a full time 24 hours a day billing factory.

    No money no problems.

    The government, the state or other programs will take the tab. I have no argument with the payments if a person has no money but I do about the abuse and out of control cost of those payments.

    As you may have noticed when ever a patient pays the cost somehow can be negotiated down and I mean really down. Try it on your $1200 bill and you will be amazed. Once they agree to a cut take it down again.

    Same for medical equipments such a wheelchair etc. There are “always two prices”. Government is always the Cash Cow. The medical industry knows this they do this all day long.

    The health Care in the US is overall very good but the cost system is probably the worst racket in the world after drugs and the military industrial complex

    The game they play is: It’s healthcare so we have to be compassionate. Now, is this not an easy sell for politicians?

    Reality is: It’s not abusive it’s an extortion racket.

    It boils down to: The clients that can not pay are much more profitable than the one that can. The client is not the real client the real client is Government.

    Hospital Management, Doctors (not all) and lawyers are very happy with this system.

    Reply
    1. Mark Biernat

      An extortion racket it is if a ten minutes with a PA cost 1300 dollars. I think generally doctors are the least guilty as many go into medicine with sincere intentions. However, the management companies, and a big layer of middlemen are making profits from this. I have met many a man who was in this field making a nice cushy living, yet not one of the shaper tools in the shed.

      If there is an opportunity to make money off the government, people do, its legal but is it right?

      1300 dollars for stitches without any tests or painkillers by a physicians assistant not a doctor, is crazy and unfair. In fact they were staples and took a minute to put in. Do you know how hard I have to work for 1300 dollars.

      It is very unfair.

      If you could just go to the doctor and pay him directly everything would be cheaper. This is what I do at my walk in clinic.

      I have no ideas what the medical world of bills and payments will look like in a couple of years with the election and all.

      I do know that medical care is disportionately high and unjust in the USA. Even to have a baby in the USA is like 10,000 dollars. That again is a lot of money.

      I do not have the answers but I think if there was a real free market solution, prices would deflate significantly. However, a market distortion such as the government seems to be driving up prices.

      I am also concerned about innovation as we move from a free research and market medical country that does such great research to a government controlled country. Will innovation be reduced?

      Yes the poor should have access to cheap medical care. But I think that market solutions would be a better way to go than what we have now. I mean if my stitches were only say 80 dollars than that I could afford, but 1300, will crush our budget.

      Again I think it comes back to what you said, it is a two tier system, those who get payments from the government and those who do not. Many people I know are trying to get or are on ‘disability’ or some for of government medical payments. Even though they are walking around and look healthier than me, and are a royal pain in the neck like my neighbors downstairs who smoke and drink their lives away, they still collect. While I get up very early and try to make money.

      The overseas wars are causing a new generation of people coming home on disability. Three vets I know personally, one is on disability but looks perfectly fine to me. The other is homeless and lives not far from me, and another one is divorced a few times, I think because of his tours of duty. I the wars plus Obama care combo will create a lot of strain of the medical system and although very one will be covered, I wonder what the future of medicine will be like in the USA if you see the big picture of innovation and what it does to the individual.

      Social medical care as an idea I like, actually love, but as a reality I fear in the long run,it will not maximizes the greatest happiness over the greatest number of people, on the contrary.

      We have to consider the greatest-happiness principle of John Stuart Mill.

      Reply
  2. Plasticmoney888

    It’s an extension of the welfare state. Its bankrupting countries all over the world. The idea of universal everything is utopia. Once you start in this direction there is no stooping. Being irrational is rewarded. It’s not how can I be productive and responsible, its how can I play the system and get all the entitlements available.

    Not only is it immoral Obama-care will make it mandatory.

    One thing that would help is that Government Financial help should have nothing to do with Private Hospitals. It should be completely separate and rearranged.

    As it is now Hospitals Administration special personal team will act on your behalf to get payment from the Government. They some time manage to claim losses at the end of the year. Follow the extravagant cost and you realize there are no real loses only balance sheets fudging. Take a good look at the executives hospital parking lot and you may find a Bentley or some exotic cars there.

    That where some of those lose have gone.
    This is not Capitalist and its not Socialism ether. Its closer to Mussolini’s dream.

    Reply
  3. Plasticmoney888

    David Rosenberg notes, “the jobs number was 1/2 a far more important number – i.e. US citizens going for disability, by 4/10212 it was a 225k + increase year to date. He continues: “disability is the stealth stimulus program – 2011, 1,000,000 applied for disability thus far, 333k enrolled (that means 539k uder the disability stiumus family umbrella). In Obama’s 3 years 5,000,000 more are on disability’.

    Reply
    1. Mark Biernat

      For anyone that says this type of talk is heartless, objecting to the increase in disability applicants consider this:

      • Everyone I know on disability and I know many people are mobile walking around enjoying a nice life and are healthier, stronger and more active than many people I know who are not on disability. Further, I witness them abusing their bodies like the chain smokers down below me in my condo.
      • In Poland a post socialist country where I lived, during hard economic times everyone and their mother somehow got disability. I witnessed many drunk people sitting on park benches who are healthy in every way but they are on disability. It caused a huge social mess. The government has been trying to clean this up for years.
      • These questionable disability claims, and all the ones I know are not even grey area, steel and rob money from the truly needy via a misallocation of resources.
      • For people collecting disability and who do not really deserve it, it robs them of the human dignity of striving to be the best they can be
      Reply
  4. Plasticmoney888

    In the US welfare state the top 10 percent of income earners pay 70 percent of the income tax burden while 47 percent pay nothing.

    Reply
    1. Mark Biernat

      I do not understand why people want to bring down people with taxation of other people’s money to benefit themselves? I can only say it is jealously, which in my book is a sin.

      I mean people doing well, does not affect my own internal happiness. It is not like they are stealing from me, if anything they made money by creating some value in the market place. But even if they did not. Even if they got paid some crazy salary somewhere that they did not deserve, so what. They did not steal it from me.

      Wealth generation both personal and for the nation as a whole, always does better when markets tend to be free and governments are small.

      Communism dragged everyone down as does socialism. The European countries turning now to socialism for a solution to a problem that was caused by government in the first place will be setting themselves on a course of their own destruction where everyone is poor.

      When it comes to health care it is easier to say ‘revolution’ and have social medical care. But I think medical coverage for the poor can be better dealt with though free market ideas.

      Further, I am waiting for the day things like stem cell therapy for replacement of discs in the spine or treating brain injury for example become cheap and available. This will not happen if market forces and incentives for research are hampered.

      I think people need to consider free market solutions that will result in a higher greater good for all.

      Reply
      1. Mark Biernat

        My biggest concern with social health care is that it will slow the progress of things like stem cell research. Right now free market companies are spending a great deal on this. Why? because with the profit motive intact, there is a load of money to be made. Why? Stem cells can repair a lot of what ails us now at a fraction of the price and pain of traditional medical care.

        I do not know, social medical care conjures up images of mediocre medical care. I believe in health coverage for the poor 100%. Just the way we do it is market mechanisms. So it does not slow the rate of technology.

        Reply
  5. Telisha M.L.

    I agree with what Mark said, have coverage for the poor. I think the definition of disability is becoming more blurred and muggy since more people are on it but doesn’t deserve to be, sounds unfair. Something must be done about healthcare, I’m disgusted with the term “preexisting condition”. The way I heard it is this, say for example a person gets treated for bronchitis and a stomach virus then 5 years later gets a stomach virus again. The insurance will deny the coverage for the stomach virus or any other illness that arose this time because of the previous treatment 5 years ago. How about a person can be denied coverage for ivy drugs for cancer treatment? I heard this was going on too.

    Reply
    1. Mark Biernat

      Ron Paul and Milton Friedman two quintessential Libertarians both maintained help for the poor was important. In a rich society, and the USA is unspeakably rich compared to other countries, has an obligation to help the poor with a safety net.

      I think the USA waste money on other things like perpetual overseas and wars and a large WWII type military, bailouts instead of basic medical care for the poor. However, I think the way medical care for the poor can be provided is though more free market mechanisms. But I do think we should help people and not leave them high and dry.

      Stop the bailouts and let the markets work. Then transform the military into a high-tech, low soldier count homeland defense force, cut entitlements and privatize social security, eliminate the Federal reserve, stop the waste of government and this alone would allow for the US to foster free market ideas like negative income taxes and free medical clinics like there are in my town. If someone qualifies they have a private clinic in town that runs on a shoe string that provides free medical care for the poor. If I ever hit the jackpot I would have no problem donating to this. Instead wealth is suppressed and take away from this type of organization because the government gets its greedy hands too deeply involved in entitlements and overpays medicare and while those who are poor but not totally poor pay or are denied treatment.

      Reply

Leave a Reply