Meanwhile, we have illegals lining up, demanding FREE medical care; with Congress enacting laws that anyone is owed medical service, without regard to their ability to pay.
So, show up in the USA with a fake ID; demand medical care, then leave the hospital with the bill. Don't take my word for it - just look around. You will see that many Hospitals in rural America are going, or have gone bankrupt.
For example, consider the city of Yakima, in Central Washington state, has 1 hospital - they used to have several; but with the migrants all getting free care, those hospitals are now sitting emtpy with boarded and broken windows. The city has ~100,000 people, and is located about 60 miles from Mt. Rainier. This hospital serves other towns for >20 miles radius.
Haven't been to see my reg doctor in about 2 yrs, but before that, when I did go, nurse & doc kept trying to get me to do procedures that the insurance wanted me to get done because of my age & because I haven't had these done yet or not in many many years. I just say no, I don't want to schedule an appt for them, and they would get a bit annoyed with me. The reason I know it was the insurance is because the nurse was clicking everything in on the computer and it must have popped up on the screen to ask me about getting a procedure done, and when I said no to the procedure, she got a bit upset and let it slip that the insurance company wants me to get it done. I still said no. One time the nurse scheduled an appt with a specialty doctor without my permission. When that other docs office called me to let me know of appt, I told the receptionist to cancel the appt because I didn't ask for it.
The reason why WE pay outrageous fees, is because the "poor folk" (many on welfare or here illegally) are "entitled" to get their medical care for free. Those costs are then passed onto everyone else.
That's part of their excuse... Or at least that is what they force us to deduce in order to be at eachother's throats. The truth is much more sinister.
Bring it all the way back to the start.
If the charges were fair and not attempted rape, everyone would be able to afford the care
Then we wouldn't be paying for anyone aside from ourselves.
I'll go out on a limb and just say it: all insurance is money laundering.
When one select group abuses the system for free (ie uses Ambulance as a Taxi system, ER as primary care, fraudulent identities, rushes across the border for medical care, etc) - the hospital will write off what they can, pass what they can to the taxpayers and/or go bankrupt
Google “hospital bankruptcies border town” and you will see articles about Arizona, California, Texas and more going bankrupt. This denies US citizens access to medial care WE NEED and WE PAY for
So hospitals do the only thing they can. When Fed laws DEMAND they provide services, and the recipients refuse to pay - we all get screwed. So they raise the rates for those who can and will pay
For example, walk into the maternity ward of your choice; see how many migrant babies are there; then realize YOU paid for all costs of their birth, will pay all pediatric costs and they will likely have kids before they are out of pediatric care themselves
I am seeing, first-hand, hospitals that have been around for decades, closing their doors faster than new ones are built. I am also seeing that the population of these hospitals are becoming more an more "low income", whether it's single mothers with multiple kids, drug addiction, drunk driving accidents - I am seeing people who cannot afford medical care, demanding the best.
I am seeing the maternity ward, being overwhelmingly filled with minority children, born to mothers who don't have a job. I'm seeing the Welfare system being abused and stretched by countless illegals flocking into our country, not for a job; but for the benefits.
You can thank the insurance companies for that too. If you're a self pay they charge only a fraction of what would be actually billed. My brother paid cash for his and the total cost for an MRI of the knee was $285.00 because he negotiated that price because he was paying cash. They told him cash price is $450 and he said I'll pay $285 and they accepted it.
The infuriating thing is that most of the hospitals are "non-profit," but they make millions of dollars and put it into their trust funds. Hospital CEOs make great money. None of the "profit" goes back into healthcare.
Hospitals bought out all the private practices, so the doctors all work for the hospitals now. People think insurance companies have all the power. They don't. It's the hospitals.
I am old enough to remember when the insurance man (collecting for life insurance) used to come to the house. This is also the time doctors would come to your home about 60 years ago.
I remember him telling my mother if they institute health insurance you can believe the prices will double and no doctor will ever come to your home.
They consume power of course, and also some type of coolant I believe - the link suggests its liquid helium which as far as coolants go is one of the pricier types. Maybe newer kinds can use cheaper material like liquid nitrogen.
All the same, not costly. Just subject to massive markup like everything in medicine.
Medical providers can price at whatever the insurance companies are willing to subsidize - and a little more so they get some extra from us beyond what we already pay for insurance
Around me they are $450. The machine is an older GE brand, the computer used to process the digital image is a 25 YEAR OLD Silicon Graphics Octane computer. Yes the newer devices have higher resolution, but for the majority of cases the older tech is sufficient to get a diagnosis or give guidance on whether surgery is necessary.
The difference between what hospitals charge for insured patients and self-pay patients is enormous - almost half for patients who pay in cash / self pay.
I had food poisoning November 2019; it lead to heart inflammation which put me in the hospital after a visit to an urgent care. In total, the bill was $52k, $24k of which was the cath lab. Same setup as an OR. Thankfully I only had to pay the $100 ambulance ride.
I have never had an MRI. How long does it take? The only plausible explanation I have is the that labor, i.e the radiology technicians’ wages, are a significant portion of the cost of an exam. It still does not explain the high price of the exam. This assumes that the machine
Is completely paid off and the only costs are electricity and labor.
My machine a few weeks ago was Siemens made and either from 2019 or 2020 manufacture date, from the placard on the front. Interesting yours was super quick - I'm not sure why mine took longer. 20 minutes start to finish of a single extremity.
Machine was pretty loud, even having an over-the-ear headset and music playing. Also, bill was $1250 for the photos and a doc to interpret the scans. What a crock...
I'm almost at the point now where I will simply refuse to pay. I have racked up medical debt throughout some years and was planning to consolidate and make payments, but until they adjust the fees to something reasonable, I'm not feeling like paying a thing... wonder what they will do about that
This is what you get when you combine crony capitalism with the medical industry, insurance, big pharma, and government subsidies.
I still can't believe they allowed walk in clinics. If I remember correctly there was a huge push back on walk in clinics. The young guys prob don't even remember this.
Guys. This is retarded. A hospital quality MRI costs 2-3 million dollars. You have to have physicians order the test. You need a radiologist to interpret the test. You need highly trained techs to perform the test. $100 will barely cover the cost of the tech, much less the two physicians, facility costs, etc.
We can be better and far less faggoty than this frens.
Meanwhile, we have illegals lining up, demanding FREE medical care; with Congress enacting laws that anyone is owed medical service, without regard to their ability to pay.
So, show up in the USA with a fake ID; demand medical care, then leave the hospital with the bill. Don't take my word for it - just look around. You will see that many Hospitals in rural America are going, or have gone bankrupt.
For example, consider the city of Yakima, in Central Washington state, has 1 hospital - they used to have several; but with the migrants all getting free care, those hospitals are now sitting emtpy with boarded and broken windows. The city has ~100,000 people, and is located about 60 miles from Mt. Rainier. This hospital serves other towns for >20 miles radius.
Don't even get me started!
I've complained about this very thing for as long as I can remember.
I asked my doctor, how are you setting the prices? It makes no sense
It's another slush fund. Insurance needs their cut, so they up it to an ungodly amount so both sides make out.
Barring the patient, of course.
And don’t get me started about insurance companies making billions off the misfortune of keeping us all sick!!! The whole system needs to be trashed.
Haven't been to see my reg doctor in about 2 yrs, but before that, when I did go, nurse & doc kept trying to get me to do procedures that the insurance wanted me to get done because of my age & because I haven't had these done yet or not in many many years. I just say no, I don't want to schedule an appt for them, and they would get a bit annoyed with me. The reason I know it was the insurance is because the nurse was clicking everything in on the computer and it must have popped up on the screen to ask me about getting a procedure done, and when I said no to the procedure, she got a bit upset and let it slip that the insurance company wants me to get it done. I still said no. One time the nurse scheduled an appt with a specialty doctor without my permission. When that other docs office called me to let me know of appt, I told the receptionist to cancel the appt because I didn't ask for it.
The reason why WE pay outrageous fees, is because the "poor folk" (many on welfare or here illegally) are "entitled" to get their medical care for free. Those costs are then passed onto everyone else.
That's part of their excuse... Or at least that is what they force us to deduce in order to be at eachother's throats. The truth is much more sinister.
Bring it all the way back to the start.
If the charges were fair and not attempted rape, everyone would be able to afford the care
Then we wouldn't be paying for anyone aside from ourselves.
I'll go out on a limb and just say it: all insurance is money laundering.
When one select group abuses the system for free (ie uses Ambulance as a Taxi system, ER as primary care, fraudulent identities, rushes across the border for medical care, etc) - the hospital will write off what they can, pass what they can to the taxpayers and/or go bankrupt
Google “hospital bankruptcies border town” and you will see articles about Arizona, California, Texas and more going bankrupt. This denies US citizens access to medial care WE NEED and WE PAY for
So hospitals do the only thing they can. When Fed laws DEMAND they provide services, and the recipients refuse to pay - we all get screwed. So they raise the rates for those who can and will pay
For example, walk into the maternity ward of your choice; see how many migrant babies are there; then realize YOU paid for all costs of their birth, will pay all pediatric costs and they will likely have kids before they are out of pediatric care themselves
I know all that. But the cost is 100% manufactured for massive profit without any of that.
It only escalates further when you factor in what you just explained.
If so, then why are so many hospitals going bankrupt?
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/wa-hospitals-facing-unsustainable-financial-losses-in-danger-of-cutting-services/
https://www.cnbc.com/video/2020/02/18/why-some-hospitals-are-going-bankrupt-and-others-are-making-billions.html
https://therealdeal.com/2022/04/03/locals-scramble-to-raise-70m-to-buy-california-citys-only-hospital-out-of-bankruptcy/
https://wchstv.com/news/special-reports/iteam-investigates-why-are-wva-hospitals-going-bankrupt
https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/the-case-of-the-disappearing-hospital-beds/427211/
If, as you claim, Hospitals are making a profit - then wouldn't the logical response be "make more of them"?
Do you know what bankruptcy is used for when it comes to big business?
Erase debt and obligations, keep resources, re-establish credit.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-15/us-hospitals-to-face-heart-wrenching-decisions-as-losses-mount
https://www.chiefhealthcareexecutive.com/view/hospitals-losing-billions-in-2022-more-than-half-could-have-negative-margins
https://medsourceconsultants.com/why-are-hospitals-losing-millions/
I am seeing, first-hand, hospitals that have been around for decades, closing their doors faster than new ones are built. I am also seeing that the population of these hospitals are becoming more an more "low income", whether it's single mothers with multiple kids, drug addiction, drunk driving accidents - I am seeing people who cannot afford medical care, demanding the best.
I am seeing the maternity ward, being overwhelmingly filled with minority children, born to mothers who don't have a job. I'm seeing the Welfare system being abused and stretched by countless illegals flocking into our country, not for a job; but for the benefits.
You can thank the insurance companies for that too. If you're a self pay they charge only a fraction of what would be actually billed. My brother paid cash for his and the total cost for an MRI of the knee was $285.00 because he negotiated that price because he was paying cash. They told him cash price is $450 and he said I'll pay $285 and they accepted it.
I got one a couple of years ago and now I see I paid for 10% of machines cost. I am in the wrong business!
The infuriating thing is that most of the hospitals are "non-profit," but they make millions of dollars and put it into their trust funds. Hospital CEOs make great money. None of the "profit" goes back into healthcare.
Hospitals bought out all the private practices, so the doctors all work for the hospitals now. People think insurance companies have all the power. They don't. It's the hospitals.
Send me money I will buy one and set it up and be the first based imaging lab for pedes.
Mention GAW and get your first MRI for $50.
I am old enough to remember when the insurance man (collecting for life insurance) used to come to the house. This is also the time doctors would come to your home about 60 years ago.
I remember him telling my mother if they institute health insurance you can believe the prices will double and no doctor will ever come to your home.
https://www.neutechmedical.com/mri/
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/mri-magnet-cooling
They consume power of course, and also some type of coolant I believe - the link suggests its liquid helium which as far as coolants go is one of the pricier types. Maybe newer kinds can use cheaper material like liquid nitrogen.
All the same, not costly. Just subject to massive markup like everything in medicine.
It could cost $25k/year to keep the helium topped off. I'm sure that factors into the price of used machines.
Medical providers can price at whatever the insurance companies are willing to subsidize - and a little more so they get some extra from us beyond what we already pay for insurance
Around me they are $450. The machine is an older GE brand, the computer used to process the digital image is a 25 YEAR OLD Silicon Graphics Octane computer. Yes the newer devices have higher resolution, but for the majority of cases the older tech is sufficient to get a diagnosis or give guidance on whether surgery is necessary.
The difference between what hospitals charge for insured patients and self-pay patients is enormous - almost half for patients who pay in cash / self pay.
(personal experience with family member).
There are facilities in Florida who put up billboards offering mri's for 429.00.
And of course everyone thinks that is a good price too!
I had food poisoning November 2019; it lead to heart inflammation which put me in the hospital after a visit to an urgent care. In total, the bill was $52k, $24k of which was the cath lab. Same setup as an OR. Thankfully I only had to pay the $100 ambulance ride.
The medical industrial complex is a fucking scam.
I have never had an MRI. How long does it take? The only plausible explanation I have is the that labor, i.e the radiology technicians’ wages, are a significant portion of the cost of an exam. It still does not explain the high price of the exam. This assumes that the machine Is completely paid off and the only costs are electricity and labor.
I've had a few MRIs just recently.
It took all of about 5 minutes from the time I was taken into the room with the machine until the time it was completely done.
That was a full abdominal scan.
My machine a few weeks ago was Siemens made and either from 2019 or 2020 manufacture date, from the placard on the front. Interesting yours was super quick - I'm not sure why mine took longer. 20 minutes start to finish of a single extremity.
Machine was pretty loud, even having an over-the-ear headset and music playing. Also, bill was $1250 for the photos and a doc to interpret the scans. What a crock...
Thank you Fren. Confirms what we suspected: MRI pricing leads to obscene hospital profits. Where are Bernie and Liz Warren when you need them??
I'm almost at the point now where I will simply refuse to pay. I have racked up medical debt throughout some years and was planning to consolidate and make payments, but until they adjust the fees to something reasonable, I'm not feeling like paying a thing... wonder what they will do about that
Maybe I'll invest and hire an operator. Ofwrr cheap MRIs.
Very perceptive. Thanks for posting.
Why don't we pool out resources and buy a few?
I would only charge $50 per MRI .
Or do I need a 400k bachelor's degree to operate it?
It's interesting how there's just a fucking ladder of extortion
Dude this is so interesting. Ty for sharing.
This is what you get when you combine crony capitalism with the medical industry, insurance, big pharma, and government subsidies. I still can't believe they allowed walk in clinics. If I remember correctly there was a huge push back on walk in clinics. The young guys prob don't even remember this.
Very good redpill 👊🏼
Guys. This is retarded. A hospital quality MRI costs 2-3 million dollars. You have to have physicians order the test. You need a radiologist to interpret the test. You need highly trained techs to perform the test. $100 will barely cover the cost of the tech, much less the two physicians, facility costs, etc. We can be better and far less faggoty than this frens.