

24 y/o father dies of tooth infection: didn't have health care insurance - merijn481
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/insurance-24-year-dies-toothache/story?id=14438171

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TomOfTTB
The problem I have with this story and with the health care debate in general
is I think political agenda is blocking people from rationally looking at the
problem.

In the United States it is already illegal for a hospital to deny someone
medical care. Whether they can pay or not they have to be given care. The
problem here is the same isn't true of medication and dental work.

An insanely stupid flaw but an insanely easy one to fix.

By fixing that one flaw everyone in this article would have lived. The problem
is the American public is fixated on Universal Health Care. Democrats want it,
Republicans want to block it and no one is looking at other solutions to the
problem.

That's really a problem because the debates take time. It is very likely
ObamaCare is going to be defunded (the odds of the Republicans taking the
Senate in 2012 are very good statistically). Once that happens we're going to
be right back where we started AGAIN.

But there are plenty of solutions that would (or at least should) appease both
sides that could be implemented almost instantly.

My personal opinion has always been that Health Care should be dealt with
through low to no interest borrowing. The government was willing to subsidize
30 year loans to people with no credit if it meant buying a house so why
shouldn't the same be true for medical care. That way this 24 year old can get
anything he needs for under $10 a month (and we can offer deferred payment to
those in bad circumstances like unemployment).

That solution could literally be implemented tomorrow. Just tell banks "the
government will back these loans in the same way we used to back Student Loans
when they were done through private banks". Then BOOM! Problem solved in the
interim and and we can continue to debate Universal Health Care for years
safely knowing no one will die while the debate was going on.

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beej71
Dental care isn't cheap, but a non-surgical extraction is one of the cheapest
things you can do. It'd probably make sense for the hospital to pay for it
instead of getting stuck with their ER bill.

(My brother and I have been self-employed for years, and we both just self-
insure for dental and visit the dentist for regular checkups. If you have good
teeth, it seems to be cheaper than buying dental insurance even if you have to
pay for a $1200 procedure once a decade. But, see, we are willing and able to
pay that when it happens; a guy who can't afford a $100 extraction cannot, let
alone regular exams!)

What I really don't understand is why the body doesn't auto-extract these
teeth. I mean, it seems like it would be in the genetic interest for that to
happen.

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beej71
I thought about it again, and given the number of dental-related deaths and
emergency room visits versus potential $100 extractions, it actually probably
wouldn't make financial sense for hospitals to offer the extractions
preventatively. Oh well.

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rsanchez1
It should've been explained to them the consequences of not having their tooth
problems taken care of. The boy's parents chose to wait and rack up a $280,000
hospital bill, but did no one explain to them that a simple $80 procedure can
prevent serious complications? Paying $80 for that one procedure would have
saved them their son, and it would've been cheaper than paying health
insurance anyway since it's a one-time payment. Cut back on something,
anything, just don't risk your or your son's life when the solution really
wasn't too expensive.

Things like this would be better served by microloans anyway. Patient
financing should be looked to as a way of controlling costs rather than
forcing everyone to buy health insurance. If the boy's parents had been given
the option of paying, say $10 a month over a year for the dental procedure, it
would've been much easier on them than paying $80 up front. They could pay
less if they make all their payments early.

Just give them an option, an option they can understand and afford.

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Mz
_The boy's parents chose to wait and rack up a $280,000 hospital bill, but did
no one explain to them that a simple $80 procedure can prevent serious
complications?_

I think it's partly rooted in the mental models we have about medical stuff
and their costs. I can't tell you how often I hear someone tell me that eating
better is "too expensive" an option for improving their health. In many cases,
it's a matter of a few bucks a month a month compared to sometimes literally
thousands of dollars a month in medical expenses. But food comes out of their
pocket and a big medical crisis they think someone else will help cover. I
think.

I don't get it myself. Just tossing that out there.

