this post was submitted on 07 Dec 2024
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A big insurer backed off its plan to pay less for anesthesia. That’s bad. (www.vox.com)
submitted 1 week ago by jeffw to c/business
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[–] Limonene 21 points 1 week ago (3 children)

The TLDR of the article is:

... was not actually about putting the interests of patients against those of rapacious corporations. ... it would have reduced payments for some of the most overpaid physicians in America [Anesthesiologists]

There is a reason Anesthesiologists make a lot of money, and it's not because they are overbilling their time. Is this writer's head completely up their ass, or something?

Providers – not insurance companies – are the primary drivers of high health care costs

Oh, nevermind, it actually seems they're just a complete shill for Managed Care Deniers.

Shame on this website for claiming to be journalism, but not marking this article as opinion, and not marking it as a shitty opinion.

[–] shalafi 8 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Yes, providers drive up costs. Because they have to over bill to make up for what insurance denies.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago

They have to overbill so that when insurance says "We're only paying you 15% of your 'retail' charge," they can still get paid.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago

seriously. aneshtesiologists make a lot of pay because their malpractice rates are higher. they don't make the highest net pay of physicians. last I knew it was dermatologists due I believe because of real low malpractice. thing is the biggest chance of death in surgery is the anesthia but its way lower than it used to be because their org actually did a lot around the eighties to find best practices to way reduce fatalities.

[–] jeffw -1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

That sort of ignores his point about Americans making 2-3x what docs in other countries make though?

US anesthesiologists are no better than any European nation’s anesthesiologists

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago (1 children)

They have more debt from their education and also need to carry liability insurance.

[–] jeffw 2 points 1 week ago

Yup! Those are 2 other massive drivers of healthcare expenses for health systems.

[–] givesomefucks 13 points 1 week ago (1 children)

If you think the headline is stupid, take a gander at the other shit this author has wrote.

Except for this it's all about how Dems need to move further right. Of course he's taking the corporate side.

[–] KingGordon 6 points 1 week ago

Yep, what an asshole.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 week ago

This guy be deep throating boots, not just licking them.

[–] AshMan85 5 points 1 week ago (1 children)

nice puff piece, doctors are not the enemy, but the oligarchs are

[–] jeffw -2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I work in healthcare and the author is not entirely wrong. We do drive up costs.

Look up MRIs per capita, for example. Tech is a huge driver of healthcare costs.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Pretty much any way you twist it, if in California I can get medical care for $8,000 (and that's after my insurance pays a portion) or I can drive across the border into Tijuana and get the exact same quality medical services and only pay $2,600 out of pocket and have my care done by doctors who were trained and licensed in America and who run hospitals that are equivalent standard to American hospitals, then something must be going on.

Even if an MRI machine costs 5 million USD, if it's going to work for 20 years you can amortize that cost out over that 20 years and definitely make more than 5 million dollars off of using it without charging every single head that passes through its magnetic rings $6,000 a pop.

If MRIs cost $1,000 in America do you know how many people would voluntarily go through an MRI just to get a quick check and make sure that there's nothing hiding deep inside of their bodies waiting to lurch out and steal away their life?

[–] jeffw 0 points 1 week ago

You can amortize all the equipment you want. When you have 10x the equipment as anyone else per capita, your expenses are going to be higher. It’s not like amortization doesn’t exist in those countries lol

You make a great point though. Mexican docs get paid a lot less and they maintain a lot less equipment.

[–] eran_morad 5 points 1 week ago

Suck my dick.