Actual settlements, that is just the tip of the iceberg tho ... the big part of the cost of suing is liability/exposure reduction.... what the hospital and staff do to reduce liability exposure, it is massive and it extends to all the secondary mechanisms associated with the hospital - drug companies, equipment manufacturers, all the costs here are also heavily impacted by the fear of liability.

If you think about it carefully, liability is probably the biggest chain and ball of any and all things holding back the wealth and progress of western society. If more people realized this, they would see that the benefits of keeping it are miniscule in comparison to the benefits if we just got rid of it entirely - no one can sue = much better world! (provided appropriate government enforcements and or support programs can go some way to fill the gap).

If I think about it, no, the biggest ball and chain is the rich bastards that expect to make a profit on everything while fucking over everybody else.

The money spent avoiding lawsuits is mainly money that should have been spent in the first place to not fuck things up to begin with. Think about it this way, if they didn't fuck up, then most of these lawsuits would never be filed. And if they were willing to apologize and actually tell the person or family what happened, a lot of the suits would have no point.

Also, bear in mind that if you're harmed by malpractice, you're effectively no longer eligible for insurance, or at least up until the point where ACA kicked in and told insurers they had to take anybody that could pay.

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/we-can-rebuild-him

Thats the one i remember off the top of my head. Scott Hall a.k.a Razor Ramon :P

That is merely a symptom of a quite different ball and chain - Government incompetence. Wherever you see some private entity exploiting the public beyond what is reasonable under the laws of supply and demand, i see government incompetence for allowing it to happen. They (the government) should understand and enforce the economic system we are under.

No, the fear of liability is like a phobia, it creates actions far far in excess of what is actually required not to 'fuck up'. Additionally any cases that hit the media where the Judge was an idiot adds to this hysteria.

That's not government incompetence that's the result of having large sums of money to rules laywer with. It happens in every nation to some extent and until tax havens are banned it's going to continue to happen.
Well, then how precisely does changing the number of lawsuits change things? If the fear of law suits doesn't result in them taking reasonable precautions, I fail to see how people not filing so many suits is going to result in better quality care. We could have$100 heart surgeries from interns, but nobody in their right mind wants that, typically we want quality care.

Your unfortunate story raises some excellent points. You encounter a sudden illness and health care costs can become the center of your life. You may not be able to work and even if you can the stress related to payment hampers recovery. Plus, navigating the support system can require total devotion. I sympathize and I hope things are much smoother for you very soon!

As for the UK system, I don't doubt it would be a total boon to those who are already struggling to make ends meet. You don't need to look at the gash in your hand and weigh the cost of proper attention vs. duct tape. When your kid whacks her head pretty solidly, there's nothing stopping you from going to confirm she's okay. And you're not agonizing over financial ruin when you're already in a bad way.

My own family has had both excellent and dire medical experiences in England, so like everywhere else, it's a mixed bag. Still, it won't destroy you financially!




Interesting question, though I don't think that is at the heart of our problems. There have been many articles published in the past two years that detail what essentially amounts to greed. It's a totally opaque system, and hospitals have already admitted to arbitrary pricing. A Time article compared the cost for the same heart attack treatment at two hospitals: Arkansas was just over $3000. California was over $90,000.

There are no published prices, and nobody has the information required to make a sensible care choice when they need it most. You seek care, and you pay whatever they feel like charging you for it.

Private entities will do what they can to further their own interests, so who then is responsible to ensure real competition and not exploit the population beyond what is fair and reasonable according to the laws of supply and demand? The government, and any failure to do so is incompetence, regardless of lawyers and courts and tax havens - excuses excuses, and if there is one thing government is good at, it is excuses!

As for better quality care, the cost and quality of care is a pendulum that can swing both ways, it can be an excuse to rip us off, or a justification for less than adequate care.

So I'm curious: if she gets the money, has the fertility treatment, and gives birth, will she then be coming back to the 'crowd' for money to raise the kid?

Again, either I'm missing something here or 131 supporters thus far have ponied up ~$10,500 so she can get pregnant some day. Frivolous at best, masked behind the wrecking ball that is cancer.

And it seems like the wrong issue with which to get all worked-up over health insurance.

Well i somewhat agree, but i would allow for the fact that the 'crowd' will contain people with vastly varying experiences and sympathies. Some people may place a very high sympathy towards fertility, especially those whom have had bad experiences in those areas.

And health insurance can be very closely linked to why people could end up in this kind of situation.

"In a world, where celebrities get more money for medical help cause they're famous..."

She's not a celebrity. Not in the sense you'd think.

She was just someone who was involved in a game that's sold in this site and I figured people might want to chip in and help her out.

This is the last time I try asking people for help here.

That's fine. If my wife hadn't miscarried several years back we'd have a 7-year old sprout running around the house these days. These things happen.

The point is that if one is going to contribute please know (caveat: as far as I can tell from that page) that it's for optional fertility, not for follow-on cancer care. Biiiig difference and while it isn't quite masked in the plea, it's also not emphasized as it should be.

The insurance part? Fertility treatment to the tune of $85,000 is not something I want my insurance provider wasting money on, and that's why I feel this isn't a great example too start the discussion of how insurance is the bogeyman.



Note that hospitals will often have a foundation to which one may donate, to help those local folks who are having trouble paying for this or that care. Probably better spent than on this particular donor drive...

I remember her too from that. Yes, she's the daughter of Robert Holmes who's married to Jane Jensen. I'm inclined to contribute something because I remember her from that.

Well we don't know the concept of WWF here in west europe but I guess you are right. Lot of famous athletes who worked and trained like beasts end up doing cocaine and F up all their money. Tyson, Van Damme, Maradona,... I don't judge anyone cause of the constant media and public pressure on these people. So who knows one might do if he/she stood in their shoes.