@cicerone imposter,
cicerone imposter wrote:
You live in a world of negativity. In the real world, there are all ranges of realities and perceptions whether rich or poor. Your perceptions are myopic and shallow.
the ill economic system would still be ill even if I said nothing.
@hawkeye10,
True; so why bother with all that negativity?
@Advocate,
Quote:The firms are now international, with no special allegiance to the USA.
Moreover, the real money is in the engineering and manufacturing. This is happening abroad
Bullshit as for example both the founders of Microsoft and Apples are Americans and both are US companies with the majority of their workers are base in the US and they are incorporated under US laws even if they sell to the rest of the world.
@hawkeye10,
Quote:$760 a hour is outrageous charging. we should be able to be more efficient.
I agree, and that was just the hospital, not the doctors. It did include drugs, etc.
The chaotic system we have is terrible. Different charges depending upon who is paying the bill. Everyone complains about the health care situation but offer no better alternative. The free market got us where we are today. Chaos. In my opinion a single payer system would be much better. 'Customers' in health care are not the patient. They are the insurance companies and they do not work in the best interest of the patient.
@roger,
Quote:In a way, it's a con. The hospital reports a total bill, but is actually paid a negotiated amount by the insurance company. I once had a total hospital bill of over 15,000. Copay was 1,000 and the insurance company actually paid something over 7,000. The balance was discounted by the hospital.
If you are uninsured, you get stuck for the whole deal. You pay, or hounded into bankruptcy - at which point the hospital gets nothing. I suppose the operating theory is that they have to over charge to make up for the people they force into bankruptcy and their medicare patients.
The total ambulance charge was 3,500, which amounted to a grand a mile. Copay was under 200, and the insurance company paid not much more. It looked like they seriously overcharge so they can make a real swell discount - but not to everyone.
I agree that what you say is true, but you can't look at the ambulance ride that way. First of all they drove further than 3.5 miles overall. Second how much was it worth to you for them to show up at all? Plus how much was the time of the EMT worth? I'd want a professional. But you are correct, they do bill based upon who is paying and that is not right.
@IRFRANK,
Quote:In my opinion a single payer system would be much better
too little too late I think. the ideal solution is to nationalize the hospitals, single pay the doctors on salary, turn the screws on the drug companies, do tort reform, cover the malpractice with government money....have the government run the system for 20 years then sell it off. take it, fix it, then get rid of it.
ConRail is the example.
Quote:The free market got us where we are today
wrong....screwing with the market got us here. at this point it is hopelessly broken. we need to bulldoze this monstrosity and then build a new one....urban renewal is required.
@IRFRANK,
Quote:Plus how much was the time of the EMT worth?
Quote:What kind of salary do EMTs and paramedics earn?
An EMT's pay is dependent on several factors: The state in which they work, the agency through which they work, whether they are employed in the private or public sector, their level of experience, and lastly what level of training they've received. Opportunities to work overtime are common for EMTs, and these extra hours factor significantly into their total pay. The following information was furnished by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and
www.payscale.com. These represent average salaries for EMT workers nationwide:
EMT-Bs can expect to make between $22,000 and $34,000 yearly, while EMT-I's salaries can be as high as $42,000.
In the earlier part of their careers, paramedics can expect salaries that range between $28,000 and $40,000 depending on the state in which they work. After several years of experience, paramedics will routinely earn between $50,000 and $70,000 working for a state agency or hospital.
http://www.alliedhealthworld.com/emt_paramedic/salary.html
i dont think you want to know the spread between what the time is billed at and what is passed on to the EMT.
@hawkeye10,
hawk, Did you notice today's bad economic news? The DOW and the S&P hit new highs. I hope it stays this bad in the future.
@BillRM,
BillRM wrote:
Quote:The firms are now international, with no special allegiance to the USA.
Moreover, the real money is in the engineering and manufacturing. This is happening abroad
Bullshit as for example both the founders of Microsoft and Apples are Americans and both are US companies with the majority of their workers are base in the US and they are incorporated under US laws even if they sell to the rest of the world.
I think that both firms manufacture and sell abroad big-time. Thus, it is fair to call them international. Intel, for instance, was adamant about this, telling new hires that the firm was international, and that the hires should not expect to make a career with the firm.
@Advocate,
Quote:I think that both firms manufacture and sell abroad big-time. Thus, it is fair to call them international. Intel, for instance, was adamant about this, telling new hires that the firm was international, and that the hires should not expect to make a career with the firm
By that way of thinking there is no American companies of any size and once more they had all been founded by Americans citizens, the majority of their employees are Americans and they are incorporated under US/states laws.
So to me stating that they are not American firms are game playing of the worst kind.
I have a very nice job with a Japanese automotive supplier with a billion dollar business in America. Does that count for something? We supply both American and Japanese auto companies. European also.
Obama manages this countries economy like the ex Apple executive managed JC Penny...
@H2O MAN,
I suppose you want a return to a metals standard eh?
@H2O MAN,
Quote:
Obama manages this countries economy like the ex Apple executive managed JC Penny...
Are you suggesting that you find value in the Ellen DeGeneres strategy?
@reasoning logic,
reasoning logic wrote:
Quote:
Obama manages this countries economy like the ex Apple executive managed JC Penny...
Are you suggesting that you find value in the Ellen DeGeneres strategy?
What is the Ellen DeGeneres strategy?
@H2O MAN,
Quote:
What is the Ellen DeGeneres strategy?
Making JC Penny a profit.
@reasoning logic,
reasoning logic wrote:
Quote:
What is the Ellen DeGeneres strategy?
Making JC Penny a profit.
Are you suggesting that you find value in Obama's strategy?
@reasoning logic,
reasoning logic wrote:
Quote:
What is the Ellen DeGeneres strategy?
Making JC Penny a profit.
considering that this clown lost JCP over $4 billion in sales last year for an earnings loss of $1 billion I am not sure that his gay pride ad campaign lives on.
and I am not sure it matters....JCP has gone from having a bad plan to having no plan....and they have only $800 million left and very empty stores to fill, and the Martha Stewart mess might cost them much of that. this company is circling the drain.
@cicerone imposter,
cicerone imposter wrote:
hawk, Did you notice today's bad economic news? The DOW and the S&P hit new highs. I hope it stays this bad in the future.
is this justified based upon the American economic climate? do you remember your observation about distortions and me pointing out that is a sign of disease??
the fed is feeding the markets $85 billion a month of funny money to prop them up...this is not smart and is not sustainable...it is yet another bubble which will pop and will hurt people.
"Don’t worry about the economy, dear voters. Don’t worry about your decreasing net worth. Don’t worry about the unemployment situation and business failures. After all, see what we’re doing to the rich? We’ve increased their taxes once, and we’re going to do it again! You may not be able to tour the White House right now, and we’re cancelling all of the Blue Angels shows that you love so much, but we’re doing all of this as part of a plan to nail the rich with even more taxes! Why Obama is even starting attack the money these rich people have for retirement! Did you hear him last week! He said that nobody really needed more than $200,000 a year to retire on. You know what’s next, don’t you? He’s going after their money! Yes … you’re suffering, and your taxes may even go up a bit, but we’re going to nail those rich bastards, so you’re fine with that, right?”
Time to wake up, folks … especially those of you who are presently earning middle class incomes, but who are aspirational and hope that someday you can move to a higher income level through hard work and good decision making. We have a president – and an entire political party – determined to keep their grip on power from this point on, and wealth envy will be one of their primary tools. Are you going to allow yourselves to be used like this?
Boortz
