tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18943510.post5104865947923235679..comments2023-08-21T02:57:37.362-05:00Comments on Dr. Wes: The Ultimate Irony: A Sick Tax to Make Health Care AffordableDrWeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438019699222125477noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18943510.post-47681339292275511942009-04-27T13:22:00.000-05:002009-04-27T13:22:00.000-05:00Anon 04:38 here again. I'm not asking whether my e...Anon 04:38 here again. I'm not asking whether my experience was my fault or not. (It wasn't.) I'm simply pointing out that I think most medical care, especially emergency care, is provided in an inefficient market. And because this is so, large economic rents are extracted from patients. I see no reason to believe that they will absorb all of the losses whenever taxes or demand go up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18943510.post-53654347051617838512009-04-27T07:37:00.000-05:002009-04-27T07:37:00.000-05:00I genuinely wonder just how these patients are sho...<I>I genuinely wonder just how these patients are shopping. I'm uninsured and recently broke a bone. At the hospital, no one could even give me a ballpark estimate of how much I would be charged until after I was treated. Contractors continued to send bills directly to my house long after we'd paid the hospital in full. None of the parties had any idea how much the others were charging me; I J. Bowenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15392092694488693635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18943510.post-85224556943490486972009-04-26T12:43:00.000-05:002009-04-26T12:43:00.000-05:00anon 04:38 here again.
"'...this may not affect r...anon 04:38 here again.<br /><br />"'...this may not affect rates very much at all.' Will patients be left with the residual tab in that circumstance? Most likely."<br /><br />maybe. But my point is that the loss need not fall entirely on their shoulders; there is certainly room for adjustment in the profit and operating expenses of both insurance companies and hospitals.<br /><br />"'The typical Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18943510.post-31820535939126540902009-04-25T10:53:00.000-05:002009-04-25T10:53:00.000-05:00We've had a similar thing in New York for years. ...We've had a similar thing in New York for years. The tax is added to hospital bills that are covered by private insurance - driving up the cost of the insurance. The patient doesn't see it because the bill goes to the insurance company<br /><br />In NY the "reason" is to keep New York City hospitals open - in a glutted market. The pretense is that they're "teaching" hospitals, serving a vital Sparkynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18943510.post-67193625522808057002009-04-25T00:20:00.000-05:002009-04-25T00:20:00.000-05:00in Colorado, held to lower taxes by their self-imp...<I> in Colorado, held to lower taxes by their self-imposed "Tax Payers Bill of Rights" </I>Wasn't TABOR gutted in the last round of Democrat election victories?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18943510.post-33330607434280480922009-04-24T20:38:00.000-05:002009-04-24T20:38:00.000-05:00Anony 04:38-
"...this may not affect rates very m...Anony 04:38-<br /><br /><I>"...this may not affect rates very much at all."</I>5.5% to this doctor seems like one heck of a lot of money added to the coffers of state government administration directly from patients and their insurers. What are the patient's getting in return for this "fee/tax?" Certainly in the big scheme of things, like a $1 trillion dollar health care reform package, the DrWeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17438019699222125477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18943510.post-49543977802459580302009-04-24T16:38:00.000-05:002009-04-24T16:38:00.000-05:00Depending on whether hospital rates are already ne...Depending on whether hospital rates are already near monopoly prices, this may not affect rates very much at all. <br /><br />The typical patient at a hospital likely does not search for bargains before going. Rates are mostly negotiated with insurers, and here again, patients are more interested in coverage, coinsurance, and copays than they are rates paid to doctors; and, in any event, these Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18943510.post-89818103657276402122009-04-24T12:11:00.000-05:002009-04-24T12:11:00.000-05:00As the link in the last comment suggest, our entir...As the link in the last comment suggest, our entire health program is held captive by the insurance industry...and yet conservatives do not want a national health plan. In fact, those without coverage go to emergency room; then the hopitals charge a fortune to those with coverage; then the rates go up again.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18943510.post-48696160752176177192009-04-24T11:44:00.000-05:002009-04-24T11:44:00.000-05:00Did you hear about this story: http://bureaucrash....Did you hear about this story: http://bureaucrash.com/2009/04/01/who-is-health-care-regulation-protecting/?J. Bowenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15392092694488693635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18943510.post-19484404307765336902009-04-24T11:27:00.000-05:002009-04-24T11:27:00.000-05:00I am almost certain that here in good old NY State...I am almost certain that here in good old NY State, home of every tax known to man, we already have thatdochttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04788869994372179171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18943510.post-90821637524647545242009-04-24T10:32:00.000-05:002009-04-24T10:32:00.000-05:00The doublespeak is strong in Colorado.The doublespeak is strong in Colorado.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07911912280426857688noreply@blogger.com