Re: Beggars, Tramps and Thieves -- The Chimneyville Discussion Forum

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Date Posted: 18:49:59 07/28/02 Sun
Author: Pot
Subject: Re: Beggars, Tramps and Thieves
In reply to: Marv 's message, "Beggars, Tramps and Thieves" on 17:03:43 07/28/02 Sun

>> > > And Tom Brokejaw just spent an entire hour
>pissing and moaning about ceo's...not counting his
>salary for lying daily, and K. Couric's $65,000 a week
>for being perky and talking about hormone
>therapy...and other useless sh*t......Up, Up, and Away!
>by Paul Hein
>
>Don’t be surprised if Congress gets a pay boost this
>year. The hard-working freedom-fighters deserve it.
>They haven’t gotten a raise in – let’s see – a
>year! But before that, their last increase hadn’t
>been for – twelve months. And the last one before
>that – fifty-two weeks. So it’ll be four raises in
>four years.
>
>The raise will be for $5,000, bringing Congressional
>pay up to $155,000 yearly. In the last ten years, the
>boys in Washington have had their salary increased
>$20,000. Of course, perks, like living and traveling
>allowances, are on top of that.
>
>But don’t consider the possibility of greed. The pay
>raise is automatic. The poor guys get it whether they
>want it or not. The only way they can prevent it is to
>vote NOT to accept the automatic pay raise, but it’s
>usually bundled in with the Treasury Department budget
>and thus sort of slips through. And this handy law was
>no doubt forced upon them by hostile Martians, against
>their will.
>
>In fact, one lawmaker spoke against the raise this
>year. Rep James Matheson declared "We can’t afford
>it; last year’s government surpluses are long gone.
>We are swimming in red ink, we are fighting a war. We
>shouldn’t be asking the taxpayers to pay us more."
>Gee, Mr. Matheson, when did you guys ever ask? And
>there never was any "surplus"; that was a bit of
>bookkeeping legerdemain that would make Arthur
>Andersen gasp. And possibly the principal reason we
>are "fighting a war" is to pour some money into a
>moribund economy, in the hope, always flickering in
>the government breast, that the economy can be
>stimulated by government spending. (It is well-known,
>of course, that if we kept and spent our own money,
>the economy would tank instantly.)
>
>Personally, I admire the wisdom that enables the
>rulers to decide who gets what, and what’s good for
>the economy, and what isn’t. Obviously, pay
>increases for Congress are good, while higher fees for
>me are bad. For instance, when I check a patient’s
>visual fields today, I am allowed (yes, allowed!) to
>charge no more than 49; when I did the same
>examination last year, I was allowed to charge 56.
>Some years ago, I was allowed (!!) to charge 1500 for
>cataract surgery (for a brief period, it was even
>higher), then it was reduced to 1200, 1100, and today
>it stands at about 800. I wouldn’t mention this if I
>had entered into a contract with the government
>(called "taking assignment") by which I agreed to
>charge only what Uncle said I could. But I haven’t
>entered into any such arrangement. Somehow, it’s
>been calculated that, for doing the same job, I should
>accept – under penalty of fine and/or imprisonment
>– an ever smaller number, for the good of the
>economy, or something. Far be it from me to complain.
>I’m sure lawyers are in the same boat. Aren’t they?
>
>Perhaps I might be excused, however, if I express just
>a bit of disappointment at what seems like hypocrisy.
>I call myself a doctor, because I am. What do the
>Congresspersons call themselves? Public servants. We
>hear that so often we don’t gag when the phrase
>crosses our ears. Public servants? What does that
>mean? If they are public servants, what are we, the
>public? The masters, right? What else could we be?
>Well, how does it work when the servant tells the
>master what he can charge for his services? How does
>it work when the servant tells the master what he can
>or cannot do? And what in the world is going on when
>the servants wake the usually-somnolent master and
>inform him, "You’re going to be paying us more next
>year, like you have for the past few years, and will
>for years to come. We’ll tell you how much."
>
>In the land of the slave, and the home of the coward,
>the master says, "OK, just send the bill. I’ll pay
>it; I always do." In the hypothetical land of the free
>and the home of the brave, the master would say, "Pack
>up and get out. You’re history."
>
>Well, I can dream, can’t I?

Can't argue with Dr. Hein about pay raises for legislators; howsomever, he doesn't quite tell the WHOLE story about how much he can charge. I assume he is talking about maximum charges he can make when he treats medicare/medicaid patients. He may very well have a point; however, he talks out of both sides of his mouth. He failed to mention that he does the same thing when he bills an insurance company. Let's say he normally charges $165 for a 15 minute office visit. That's not unusual for a specialist. Ok, he bills the insurance company for $165. They will only pay him $55-$65 and he accepts it without complaint. Now then, if you are an un-insured patient and visit the same Dr for the same 15 minute visit, you get billed for the full $165 and if you don't pay, they will sic bill collectors on you. Something's wrong with that picture.

About three years ago when I had my surgery, the Dr billed the insurance company over $12,000. They paid him $2400. The hospital billed the insurance company over $3700 per day including the $6. each for Tylenol tablets. The insurance company ended up paying around $700 per day. Oh yeh! Did I mention that my copay was the same?

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