Medicare Shenanigans

A corporate lobbyist…every government official has one!

[JohnathanHyde.]

The lobbyist knows what he's doing. Corrupting Jimothy is the only way to end this series that covers Medicare in a bad light and he sure knows it. Wonder how long poor Jimothy will hold out.

[metalheadami]

Last month I put too much salt in my soup and a nephrologist stood outside my house for 2 weeks. Ignoring the 100 degree weather.

[egonmilanowski]

. . . I didn't see you remove it from your pocket, Jimothy. You were the chosen one. You were supposed to bring balance to the force.

[frankthemousepie]

Healthcare should not be for profit. Basic necessities should not be for profit. People shouldn't have to choose between death and bankruptcy

[WaiferThyme]

The American health care system is horrifying. I am in Canada and spent 2 months in hospital following an accident. Transport to the ER with early intervention, 2nd transport to the city for emergency Surgery, at least 7 inter hospital transports for treatment, daily x-rays, multiple CT scans and MRIs, a year in a cast, 6 months of physio therapy, second surgery, 6 years of followup, and permanent wheelchair. Cost to me $0.00

[nokomarie]

Both of my parents had MBAs, and I would never have trusted either of them with healthcare decisions. Completely uninformed is an unnecessarily nice way to put it.

[jillianmyerly]

Yeah, as someone who deals with the American health insurance system daily, we are starting to see more and more patients coming in with Medicare replacement/advantage plans and fewer coming in with traditional Medicare.
It's actually kind of horrifying to think about, especially with everything that's happened as a result of the consolidation of health insurance. The Change Healthcare/UnitedHealth Group breach literally compromised 1/3 of individuals with health insurance in the USA, and they are JUST NOW sending out the formal notices to affected patients.
But as long as the government decides to cover less and reimburse providers less, this kind of thing is just going to keep on happening.

[tesla_shock]

The #1 thing Dr. Glaucomflecken has taught me is I need to prioritize my health and stay fit as much as I can. Because it's becoming increasingly obvious with private equity running the show our healthcare system in the US is going to degrade even more despite competent and caring professionals working in the industry. Because without scrupulous doctors running things the top focus will be profits over people. This is beyond private or publicly funded healthcare systems, it's complete redefinition of what the goal of healthcare is. I really hope we can reduce or reverse this trend but even then it's not going to be overnight, so make sure your active and eating healthy if you can!

[A---tizz]

Some idiot at my insurance decided that the two labs closest to me no longer can do stat labs and that I should drive an hour and a half to get a stat lab. Guess what my doctors do instead? Send me to the ER. I have to get frequent blood transfusions. If my hemoglobin is above 7 they send me home and I come back a day or two later. So instead of paying for a $6 lab test and not going to the ER until they will actually have something to treat they get to pay an extra $6000 ER bill regularly.

They also made me wait seven days for the results of a rapid strep test. I feel so cared for

[cactustree]

I had United Medicare Advantage. When signing up, the many needed healthcare services contractually said 'can' be covered. Problem was that United pays healthcare providers so little I could not find anyone in my area that would accept it. When I called United they said that the legal definition of 'can' is that if you can find someone who accepts us, you can get that coverage. I ended up paying 100% out-of-pocket. I hate United Healthcare's Medicare Advantage and will never use them again.

[NYKevin]

The MBA thing is so frustrating, and it's not just a healthcare thing. Practically every industry is getting devoured by twentysomethings in suits who think every business is a spreadsheet.

[meridabowes]

And they wonder why there is a physician shortage right now.

[maryroberts]

We have this system because we choose to have this system. End lobbying!

[savannahc]

Glomerul-US with the oh-so-iconic scribbled glom sent me over the edge 😂

[cloudsowhite]

Physicians get paid less, Insurance companies get pay increased.

[livinglifebackwards-lesson]

I've often compared doctors in healthcare to musicians in the record industry. We both do the work and are the reason patients /fans give the industry money, and we both have a pile of executives who make money off our work. I think it's time us doctors take a cue from Taylor Swift and fight to reclaim our work from the healthcare executives exploiting us. For starters we should unionize, we need our voice back.
I am old enough to remember a time 20 years ago when the Medicare cuts would happen, but Congress would reverse the cuts and even give a little raise. That actually happened along party lines, because one party at the time was courting doctor's votes. But these days our power and influence is drowned out by big healthcare corporations and hospital systems, so no one courts us.
We need to get a say again. unions or something. (And for those who say unions are unethical because we can't strike, remember firefighters can't strike, but still have a strong union. Second, for those of us who are employed, the patient is no longer our patient, but the system's. Overnight we could be let go and lose all "our patients". So, for our patients we need to stand up.)

[GlassmakerRN]

Optum bought out the docs at Oregon Medical Group in Eugene, Oregon in 2020. According to the Oregonian, as of March of this year 32 providers have left OMG and nearly 2800 patients have been dropped from the group practice. I was the Patient Health and Safety RN who was there with the transition and it was very difficult for the clinic to adhere to Optum’s standards. I left 2 years ago and am not surprised with how things have evolved there. Optum is slowly creeping up I-5 to the Corvallis Clinic to help stem financial woes of the clinic. They waved cash at them whereby they asked the Oregon Health Authority for emergency approval of the merger. Egads!

[KA-mdje]

Oh Jimothy, won't you ever learn? Healthcare isn't about health. 💲💲💲

[Jenx]

We the people already can’t afford healthcare. Never thought when I was 18 and went into computer programming, in healthcare no less, that I wouldn’t be able to afford needed diagnostic studies 40 years later

[beckysmith]

Jimothy don't go to the dark side tempted by money kickbacks! HOLD the line! Remember that you will need healthcare someday too!