Whinning?

[Guest guest]

It's my opinion there needs to be a lot more

" whinning " in this country about health care costs, if

" whinning " is what you want to call it. When a

hospital charges over $17,000 dollars for a one hour

procedure there is something seriously wrong. Charges

like this are a big reason why:

-The annual premium that a health insurer charges an

employer for a health plan covering a family of four

averaged $10,800 in 2005. The annual premiums for

family coverage eclipsed the gross earnings for a

full-time, minimum-wage worker ($10,712).

-The average employee contribution to company-provided

health insurance has increased more than 143 percent

since 2000. Average out-of-pocket costs for

deductibles, co-payments for medications, and

co-insurance for physician and hospital visits rose

115 percent during the same period.

-A recent study by Harvard University researchers

found that the average out-of-pocket medical debt for

those who filed for bankruptcy was $12,000. The study

noted that 68 percent of those who filed for

bankruptcy had health insurance. In addition, the

study found that 50 percent of all bankruptcy filings

were partly the result of medical expenses (12). Every

30 seconds in the United States someone files for

bankruptcy in the aftermath of a serious health

problem.

>>I wish doctors would include on the portion of

>>their next bill, the amount due to malpractice

>>insurance, and for services that were uncompensated

>>due to illegals and the uninsured.

The last endo I went to charged me $250 for a 10

minute office visit. If I made $1,500 per hour I

think I could pay my malpractice insurance just fine.

And most physicians in private practice want cash up

front from uninsured patients.

Sorry for the " whinning " ,

a