The woman who will probably beat Reid says patients should 'barter' with doctors to bring costs down

[BurtWorm]

The story is here: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_04/023308.php

Sue Lowden is the leading Republican candidate for Senator in Nevada. She told the audience in a debate that, to control health care costs:

"...I would have suggested, and I think that bartering is really good. Those doctors who you pay cash, you can barter, and that would get prices down in a hurry. And I would say go out, go ahead out and pay cash for whatever your medical needs are, and go ahead and barter with your doctor."


The idiot probably meant 'bargain' or 'haggle,' which is stupid enough. But I wonder if she might not have something with the bartering thing. "I've got a tumor to come out, doc. How about, in exchange for surgery on my tumor, I'll build a two-story addition on your house. I'll paint it and furnish it if you'll throw in some chemo or radiation. What do you say?"

[eleny]

1. The idiocy is becoming pure, unadulterated

[Confusious]

2. idjit

"go ahead out and pay cash for whatever your medical needs are"

Yea, I got $10,000 lying around.

"go ahead and barter with your doctor"

Yea doc, I'm having a heart attack

How much you going to charge doc?

Oh that much?

I think I can find it cheaper across town. See Ya!


Right. What an FUCKING Idiot. No FUCKING CLUE as to what the rest of us have to deal with. How does she find the brainpower to breathe?

[Warren Stupidity]

3. While you are having a heart attack, for example?

How fucking stupid are these people?

[louis-t]

4. Idiot assumes that everyone has as much cash as she does.

Not many people pay their doctor bills in cash. Moron.
You forgot the caveat: "....after I recover from my surgery, I'll get right on that addition on your house."

[tanyev]

5. How many blood pressure pills will you give me for my complete set of Zane Grey novels?

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

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[Mojorabbit]

10. My husband accepts

garden vegetables from some of his poorest patients who want to give him something for the care he gives them, he would do it for free but it is a matter of pride for them.
This is fine for a portion of his patients, but we do have a mortgage to pay and employee salaries, etc and we can't barter for that.

[BurtWorm]

11. That is neighborly.

How much does a basket of vegetables buy, out of curiosity? Are we talking about a regular checkup? Setting of a bone, or tending to a wound?

[Mojorabbit]

14. Regular visit

and as much free samples meds as he can scrounge for them. Anything family practice would encounter. We have paid for diagnostic tests for some and for meds till people can get back on their feet. It is rough out there for a lot of people. He brought me home a flat of strawberries, some field peas, and some crappie fillets this past month. He doesn't ask for the vegetables, it is what people bring.

[BurtWorm]

17. I get you.

He sounds like a mensch. I wish all doctors were like that.

[MUAD_DIB]

28. You and your husband's actions are quite commendable.

:)

[blueamy66]

44. You've made my day.

thank you

ok...I've got 11 artichokes growing...can your hubbie yank these stitches in my mouth? :-)

seriously...thank you

[Name removed]

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[Mojorabbit]

19. What did you mean?

I am not understanding you and it is probably my fault. I am having one of those days.:)

[uppityperson]

20. Good job! Someone shows you a personal example proving you wrong and you insult them.

" I think the kind of doctors that would be willing to barter for healthcare.... would mostly be interested in BJs."

"My husband accepts garden vegetables from some of his poorest patients"

"that's not what I meant...I'm just thinking that a dr that would barter for healthcare would not have the greatest ethics. so i'm still going with bjs."

Wow.

[Name removed]

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[uppityperson]

32. You are stuck on bj's and personal insults.

Her husband did barter, did accept garden vegetables for care. I worked for a doctor who got paid for visits with dungeness crabs and salmon that the patient caught. I worked with another health care provider who had their bathroom remodeled and got a couple nice paintings. I am a health care provider and have bartered for rototilling my garden (and horse manure for the garden). None of us "only want something sleazy and unethical like SEX".

And you call ME sick? Fail.

[Name removed]

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[Confusious]

8. ??????????????

Maybe I should be a doctor :)

[cutlassmama]

9. She misses the point completely. It's not the costs of doctor's visits, it's

big pharma and insurance companies that are making the HUGE profits.

[Johonny]

26. The doctors main cost to doing business

is the labyrinth billing of the insurance companies

[uppityperson]

27. And the outrageous cost of their own malpractice insurance.

[Warren Stupidity]

35. < 1% of health care costs.

The 'malpractice insurance problem' is mostly Yet Another Endlessly Repeated Rightwing Lie.

[uppityperson]

37. Link, and I think it depends on the doctor/practice.

Docs I know it is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy more than 1% of what they get. family doc who I worked with, did obstertics for yrs, had to get out due to high malpractice insurance.

I'd like to see a link, seriously. Thanks.

[elias7]

38. not exactly true

While perhaps you are right that malpractice insurance is <1% of costs, don't forget that the threat of malpractice results in "defensive" medical practice. This means many more tests ordered at huge costs.

For example, if a woman in her 50's pulled a muscle in her chest raking leaves and presents with sudden difficulty breathing, the pulled muscle might be a red herring and one might be missing a coronary problem or a pulmonary embolism. So right there, you have tons of bloodwork, and ecg and chest x-ray, CT angiogram of the chest, and prolonged ER stay with cardiac monitoring.

Seems silly for a pulled muscle, but we only really can conclude that in retrospect, and if it turned out to be an MI or PE, the doctor, the nurses and the hospital would get sued. No room for common sense, clinical judgment, human error when we can spend more money to be more perfect.

[PCIntern]

12. This is not new...

you'd be shocked...SHOCKED I TELL YOU, what some have offered me in exchange for fillings or bridgework.

One woman, many many years ago said that I would have a weekend which I would never forget for the rest of my life.

[BurtWorm]

15. How's her bridgework now?

;-)

[PCIntern]

22. "In my depravity, filled the wrong cavity"?...

No...it is the MOST DANGEROUS thing you can do as a professional. Better to boink her yourself and find a referral for the work. You only get one mistake doing that...then it's SUSPENDED LICENSE TIME here in PA...if you're lucky.

[BurtWorm]

23. I applaud your ethics.

:applause:

Hope they're not rare.

[GreenPartyVoter]

16. The repubs want to go back to the kindly ol' family doc system where you really could pay

in chickens. But I don't think that works in our high-tech test-oriented system. What lab wants to be paid in poultry?

[quiet.american]

18. Any Nevadans here who can shed some light on this dim bulb?

What is the appeal of this woman? OR has Nevada simply gone mad?

[laughingliberal]

25. I think we have gone full blown mad. How else would you explain our governor?

I haven't paid much attention to this woman. Her ads suggest to me she is a huge supply sider, tax cuts for the rich, pro big business. She's painting herself as a down to earth Nevadan and touting her business credentials with some line about how her family started a business here and created some number of jobs. My question would be, 'what kind of jobs were they?' I've no doubt Reid has his opposition research people on it. At this point, the Republican primary has not happened. I expect to see some hard hitting once there is a firm Republican candidate.

[quiet.american]

36. Thanks for the insights, laughingliberal.

It's amazing that a hardcore "dumbass" approach now seems to be the hottest ticket in town when it comes to selling oneself as qualified for public office.

[beyurslf]

21. If she is payhing her doctor in cash whem she goes, she is alreayd proving outside of

normal she is.

[aquart]

24. OMG. What a complete creep.

[Tutonic]

29. Sounds like that nutbag EvilMeg Whitman. These right wingers

think they can walk down the center of a picket fence and wave at the flag simultaneously. They can't and I don't think the elecotrate will buy this bull in November. Harry Reid has been at this place before and he's got zillions of dollars to crush this lying sack of half-truths.

[midnight]

30. O my, she must be suffering from way too much sun.

[southernyankeebelle]

33. I wonder how doctors feel about that? Maybe she should ask that

FL doctor would like that. I wonder, lol. My friend was telling me that there is this old doctor in our rural town that barters.

[struggle4progress]

34. CQ Politics Race Rating: TOSSUP

http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=senate-2010-NV

[Odin2005]

39. Wow, that is f***ing stupid!!!

[SoCalDem]

40. Yay! Garage-sale Doctors.. how uniquely 21st century American

Can't you just imagine the discourse?

patient: I need to see the doctor, I have a sore throat..how much does the doctor charge?

office person: The office call will cost you $xxx.xx, since you have no insurance.

patient: I also have NO money, but I have a nice pair of size 9 ice skates, a slightly broken weed-whacker, some rims for a 1990 Olds Cutlass, & a basket of tomatoes I just picked.. will that be enough?

click:

[LiberalFighter]

41. When she has $58 million it is easy to bargain.

[lutefisk]

42. She won the Miss New Jersey pageant while Palin only finished third in the Miss Alaska pageant

So, obviously New Jersey Sue is even better qualified to make decisions affecting our Nation.

Even better- how about "Palin-Lowden 2012"? A teabagger's fantasy ticket.

[suffragette]

43. An extreme version of the individual view of healthcare

that is at the root of problems with our system.
Basically, she's saying here's how you can get yours in a one-on-one way.

This way of thinking pops up in many manners, in the expressed concern of people that someone else may be getting a better deal or that someone who somehow doesn't "deserve" (by whatever criteria is used at that moment and usually joined with a puritanical bash on that person's way of life) some type of care could receive it anyway.

It's absolutely opposed to viewing healthcare as a societal right and that every member of society should have equal access to care.