<p>This is not a good example to support your case. First of all, obviously, it’s not an example of American health care costs. Sharon is an Israeli in a persistent vegetative state in Israel.</p>
<p>But more relevantly, American people in persistent vegetative states for years are not a significant part of American health care costs.</p>
<p>If you want to talk about the idea that we shouldn’t be spending a fortune on people who will die in six weeks, you might have an audience here. But if you start talking about not spending health care dollars on a person who will die two years from now, you’re going to get a cold reception in this forum. </p>
<p>That’s our parents you’re talking about. My mother is elderly and not in the best of health, but if you say you want to cut off her health care right now, I say go to ****.</p>
<p>“For the most part they are somewhat privileged, yes.” </p>
<p>Ok, but maybe we have gotten to the point where our kids are somewhat more privileged because we recognized that spending money, for things like health insurance to protect us from things like financial ruin, are so important. </p>
<p>And the not so privileged youth will either be eligible for medicare (except in states which refused to expand) or a heavily subsidized rate.</p>
<p>Correct. But the problem is in the middle and those numbers are already shrinking. This is currently hurting young professionals just starting out and with student debt and whatnot who can barely afford to get off the ground and a bunch of older people trying desperately not to become part of the less fortunate data.</p>
<p>Not everyone has parents that can afford to pick up their tab. Many, many young people really do still work themselves through college. That stuff is getting harder.</p>
<p>They’re privileged because the average CC family has a whole lot more money than the family of the average 18-year-old. Did you notice how posters here are talking about how they either are not qualifying for subsidies, or they are barely qualifying? The average family does qualify for subsidies.</p>
<p>“Could it not be expanded to include everything everywhere and let patients decide what to do? MediBid makes it sound like a win win; it will save money on the patient part and weed out bad doctors/hospitals.”</p>
<p>Why hasn’t OK surgical center done this already if it’s so workable? How come no oncologists or neurosurgeons, or infectious disease specialists on staff. Or neonatoligists on staff. </p>
<p>I think these centers are good for one-offs and uncomplicated procedures where it’s easy to price a specific service and care is not ongoing.</p>
<p>dstark, who is this Nicholas Roth and why should we accept his analysis? The paper looks like something prepared by a student for a course. Is this a master’s thesis?</p>
<p>CF - Please do not forget those of us who do not qualify for subsidies because we work ourselves to death and have 2 kids in college so they will eventually not qualify for subsidies either. And currently we do not have a lot of extra cash. Thank-you.</p>
<p>My parents and in-laws over the last 3 to 5 years have seen their medical costs rise dramatically. Medicare is picking up most but not all of the tab. My dad takes 6 pills a day. My father-in-law takes 8. He also came down with parkinson’s. My mother-in-law has come down with some condition and I think the medication costs about 10,000 a month. My in-laws were athletes. Very little drinking. No smoking. Very very fit until around age 80.</p>
<p>I asked my in-laws if they know any 80 year olds that are not on medication and they said no.</p>
<p>The costs are going to keep rising. A little off topic but we read that the elderly own the wealth in this country.the elderly are going to need that wealth to cover medical and other health needs. My parents are running at a negative cash flow of 45,000 a year. To be honest that could be cut to 25,000 a year. And my dad has dementia. The costs can explode.</p>
<p>But also, the average uninsured person lives in a working family. “63% of all uninsured individuals live in households with 1 or more full-time workers.”</p>
<p>“Medical school tuition for Texas public schools is $50,000 a year?”</p>
<p>Medical school costs are mostly funded by Texas tax payers for Texas schools. The State law mandates that 90% of the seats be given to Texans since the state funds the schools. If there is some large chunk of money coming from federal government for education (not research, not medicare money for residencies), I would like to see that evidence. Texas makes it cheap enough so most students can afford it and also ensure low income students and rural students are selected early on and put through undergrad and medical schools with scholarships.</p>
<p>It is true that medical schools cost lot more than tuition and same applies to undergrad schools too. States fund most of the difference. This is one reason some States like Pennsylvania have made medical schools private and charge the residents 44k+ in tuition.</p>
<p>I feel sad that our standard of living in this country has gone down so much, or our population has gotten so old and ill, demographically, that the average American pay check can’t cover their medical costs.</p>