Neomich said:
SWMBO is a doctor and she tells me stories all the time of people saying " I have x dollars, what can that get me?" Or "how come the insurance doesn't cover that?" Doctors have to make a living like the other poster said. They spend a LOT of money going to school to make a good living. In one way, I take a view that if you can't afford the treatment, then you just don't get it.
![Off Topic :off: :off:](https://cdn.homebrewtalk.com/smilies/ssig_offtopic00-100.gif)
Waaa ... cry me a river. You've got to be kidding me. Oh no, I only make $400,000 a year. You don't like paying alot to go to medical school then don't do it. It's not like she went through years of medical school and at the end got this astronomical bill served up with a mint.
AND, she took an oath to serve humanity. She doesn't like it, then don't do it any more.
Neomich said:
Make all doctors exempt from income taxes or something and they wouldn't need to charge as much. Besides, health care providers give back to the community enough already. And don't get me started on the malpractice lawsuits.........
Yeah, right. And if you believe that, then I got this wonderful bridge I have for sale. That's simply a rediculous notion. Besides, once you reach a certain income, that tax bracket is maxed out and the taxes that a doctor is paying (which isn't as much as you might think because they can afford to hide their income better) affects them much less than it does people in a lower tax bracket.
It’s not just the insurance companies. I think it’s very important to look at the lawyers. Every state should pass tort reform regarding malpractice law-suits with caps on non-economic damages. Two of the top 10 lobbyist in D.C. are trial lawyer association and they are constantly fighting tooth-and-nail against tort reform for malpractice suits. Lawyers are getting richer, and that is driving good doctors out of areas where they are needed.
High malpractice costs lead to increased costs from the doctors. Also, the fear of being sued, and their resulting skyrocketing malpractice premiums, has prompted many doctors to increase non-essential tests to cover their asses.
One of the highest costs in the healthcare industry is the cost of medicine. Pharmacuetical companies encompass all of their R & D and marketing costs in their U.S. markets. This is way a pill developed and manufacturered in the U.S. costs less in Canada than in the U.S. Those costs should be distributed across all markets, and not just the U.S.