What is "basic health care"?

[St_Francis]

I have seen this term used, but I do not know what constitutes basic health care, and where the line is drawn between basic health care and other forms of health care?

 

[stephe1987]

I don’t know if there is a formal definition anywhere, but here is my opinion:

I think basic health care would be:

• Being able to see the doctor when sick or in pain
• Surgeries for life-threatening things (heart surgery, tumor removal, etc.)
• Medications to help stop people from being in pain or to help their bodies function normally
• Eye exams and hearing exams
• Vaccinations we get before starting school
• Intensive Care Unit for premature babies

Other “Extra” forms of health care would be:

• Checkups*
• Flu shot*
• Cosmetic surgeries
• Birth control
• IVF
• Fancy hospital rooms with extra stuff, or having your own hospital room instead of sharing a room with another patient(s)

*exceptions being infants/toddlers, pregnant women, seniors (individuals who are at-risk and might die or risk the life of their unborn child if they get sick)

There are lots of people who don’t even get basic health care. They cannot see a doctor when they’re sick, and have to pay through the nose and go to the Emergency Room if the pain gets to be too great, because they have no health coverage. I think there is a serious problem when people who are in pain cannot see a doctor.

 

[Miserys_Fence]

There are lots of people who don’t even get basic health care. They cannot see a doctor when they’re sick, and have to pay through the nose and go to the Emergency Room if the pain gets to be too great, because they have no health coverage. I think there is a serious problem when people who are in pain cannot see a doctor.

Just a note–it’s not only the uninsured who are suffering. I have what would generally be considered to be “excellent” health insurance, but after deductibles, co-pays, and what insurance flat-out refuses to cover, I’ve been hit hard this year.

Out-of-pocket payment for my “covered” knee surgery: $3800
Total co-pays for “covered” physical therapy: $580 (doc wanted me to have another session, but I can’t afford it)
Co-pays for medications: $50+ per month for the rest of my life

I realize these bills would be much higher if I didn’t have insurance, but I doubt the Average Joe (like me) has $5K just sitting around waiting to be spent on medical expenses.

Plus I’m having another surgery this month (cataracts), and possibly another down the road (injured achilles tendon).

Miz

 

[Newbie2]

The dirty little secret that doesn’t get discussed much within the health care debate is the influence of ambulance-chasing lawers (as distinguished from ethical lawyers).

Dr. X sees a patient who has no means to pay for his or her treatment. However, if Dr. X doesn’t meet the standard of care i.e. not running certain tests that the patient cannot affort, he or she might very well get slapped with a malpractice suit.

So, “basic care” gets stretched from a physical exam and treatment based on the Doctor’s opinion of what’s going on and how to treat it best within the budget of the patient to the Doctor being required to run a certain number of tests, which may or may not be necessary to confirm a diagnosis, tests for which the patient cannot pay.

It’s great that we have a high standard of care in this country, but having such a standard means that not meeting it, even if for reasons of the patient’s inability to afford it, leave many doctors open to litigation by many who are mining for gold.

Now, of course, this isn’t always the case. There are legitimate cases of malpractice which need to be addressed. But litigation drives in some measure how most doctors practice medicine.

Since many patients are forced to go to the emergency room for routine care (colds, flu, etc.), I don’t understand why some sort of community health care cannot be set up for the indigent; instead of using expensive ER resources and time, they get care at a fraction of the cost, saving everyone money. As we all know, one of the reasons why health care is expensive even for those who have good coverage is that we all end up paying for those who cannot pay for themselves.

I would maintain that there is plenty of federal, local and state money to pay for basic health care if it were not wasted or stolen through corruption…but that is a different topic.

BTW, I’d include routine checkups in basic health care. Maybe not every year, but maybe every other year or every third year, depending on the age of the patient. Early detection frequently means less expense in the long run.

 

[St_Francis]

I don’t know if there is a formal definition anywhere, but here is my opinion:

I think basic health care would be:

• Being able to see the doctor when sick or in pain
• Surgeries for life-threatening things (heart surgery, tumor removal, etc.)
• Medications to help stop people from being in pain or to help their bodies function normally
• Eye exams and hearing exams
• Vaccinations we get before starting school
• Intensive Care Unit for premature babies

Other “Extra” forms of health care would be:

• Checkups*
• Flu shot*
• Cosmetic surgeries
• Birth control
• IVF
• Fancy hospital rooms with extra stuff, or having your own hospital room instead of sharing a room with another patient(s)

*exceptions being infants/toddlers, pregnant women, seniors (individuals who are at-risk and might die or risk the life of their unborn child if they get sick)

There are lots of people who don’t even get basic health care. They cannot see a doctor when they’re sick, and have to pay through the nose and go to the Emergency Room if the pain gets to be too great, because they have no health coverage. I think there is a serious problem when people who are in pain cannot see a doctor.

So you’re saying that basic health care covers all of bad health? But not care which is out of desire rather than bad health?

(Just a comment on the single-room: many hospitals are moving in that direction because it cuts down on people catching things while in the hospital, which are called iatrogenic diseases, so that’s not such a bad thing, and check-ups often uncover health issues before they become very expensive, s that’s why they are included.)

 

[manualman]

It’s a can of worms for sure.

To me, basic health care is anything that can be done in an office visit, outpatient basis. I’m quite surprised that anyone could consider heart surgery or a NICU “basic” health care!

Let’s face it, those things are ADVANCED. They require extremely skilled and specialized experts, facilities, technologies and medicinces. These things cost a LOT of money. Somebody has to pay for them (unless we reinstitute slavery for the health care field, which has obvious moral problems and wouldn’t work even if you didn’t care about the moral issues).

What we must choose between is a system in which your wealth determines how good of care you can get (capitalism) or one in which your level of political connections determines it (socialism). It would be nice if it was your level of medical need that determined it, but until Jesus comes back, fallen human nature makes that a utopian pipe dream. Medical resources will always be limited and there will always be competition to get them. Another poster made a good point about the degree to which lawyers (and the resulting insurance companies) have hogtied doctors and prevented them from offering more cost-effective care. There is HUGE untapped oportunities for savings there.

 

[Newbie2]

Excellent post, MM.

Yeah, basic care=anything that can be done in an office or clinical setting. I like that.