Friday, September 12, 2008
CT Scan
I got the pleasure of a morning CT scan today including the lovely "vanilla shake" that you have to drink to make your innards glow. As I left the hospital I could not help but think about the raging debate over health care and whether we should socialize our medical system like they have in the UK, Australia, and other places. While this subject falls well "above my pay grade" I had to wonder how long I would have had to wait in line for my CT scan appointment had I lived in a socialized medicine country. My condition is not life-threatening so would that mean I would have to wait longer? Would the level of care not have been as good? While I will agree that the medical costs here in America have spun out of control (it was $4,500 for a 15 minute CT scan today) I am not sure that socializing the system is the right approach. And, for once I don't have an alternate suggestion...yet!
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3 comments:
That's kinda insane. The MRI that my wife had took about 45 minutes and was only $1800, I think (before the insurance company kicked in with it's "customary and allowable" amount).
People that have a government-run healthcare system pay for it. They just don't realize it. It comes out of their paychecks and adds cost to the things they buy every day.
I'd say that part of the problem with rising health coverage is that nobody cares about the prices. Sure, we fuss about the cost of insurance, but when was the last time you got an estimate from 3-4 doctors before deciding who would do a procedure?
Obviously you can't always do that, but if patients payed attention to the actual costs rather than just throwing down their copay or their 20%, I bet we'd see the increase slow down substantially.
Keep in mind simple demand and supply. There are 55mil uninsured people in this country. No matter what program we create to get everyone insured; when you add 55mil people back in the line to recieve care we will have to wait.
Dr. Nic
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