Taichiliberal
Shaken, not stirred!
Last month, my 74 year old mom (don't tell her I know her true age and told others....she'll kill me!) had a medical emergency where she had to be taken to the local hospital by ambulance. The cause was a flare up of a condition by which she's suffered before and is being treated.
Anyway, she spent a total of 1 week in the hospital.....from about 3 hours in the emergency room where she was tested, diagnosed, given a small blood transfusion (2 units), stablilized, being moved to a bed where she shared a room with another patient, various tests, vists/consultations/diagnosis/treatment by her doctors, nurses....fed 3 meals daily for 4 days...and then sent home with a clean bill. She's doing great, back to her normal routine.
The total cost from the hospital: $27,000.....NOT including the ambulance!
Fortunately, my Mom has a hospital insurance; she also shares my Dad's GHI and she has medicare and even with that she sometimes in the past had to shell out $1-200 bucks out of pocket. Now my parents (both retired) are on a fixed income, so her Soc. Sec. would be paired down $200 every time she's hospitalized (which, thank God, has been only 4 times in the last 13 years).
I can only imagine what her out of pocket expenses would be if Sen. Ryan has his way with her Soc Sec and Medicare! You've got to wonder what type of deal a private insurance company replacing medicare is going to give a 74 year old with a condition that may flare up....you've got to wonder what would have happened to her Soc Sec if it were privatized and gambled on Wall St. in the last 13 years!
Anyway, she spent a total of 1 week in the hospital.....from about 3 hours in the emergency room where she was tested, diagnosed, given a small blood transfusion (2 units), stablilized, being moved to a bed where she shared a room with another patient, various tests, vists/consultations/diagnosis/treatment by her doctors, nurses....fed 3 meals daily for 4 days...and then sent home with a clean bill. She's doing great, back to her normal routine.
The total cost from the hospital: $27,000.....NOT including the ambulance!
Fortunately, my Mom has a hospital insurance; she also shares my Dad's GHI and she has medicare and even with that she sometimes in the past had to shell out $1-200 bucks out of pocket. Now my parents (both retired) are on a fixed income, so her Soc. Sec. would be paired down $200 every time she's hospitalized (which, thank God, has been only 4 times in the last 13 years).
I can only imagine what her out of pocket expenses would be if Sen. Ryan has his way with her Soc Sec and Medicare! You've got to wonder what type of deal a private insurance company replacing medicare is going to give a 74 year old with a condition that may flare up....you've got to wonder what would have happened to her Soc Sec if it were privatized and gambled on Wall St. in the last 13 years!