The ideal patient will die with an estate that is worth exactly what it says on the final bill 😊😊

  • GreenKnight23@lemmy.world
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    54 minutes ago

    My terminal diagnosis plan is split. I’m not sure which one I should do. I guess it depends on how sick or how much time I have left.

    it’s either going to be making my death look completely accidental for the life insurance money, or go on a punisher spree until I’m dead.

  • daannii@lemmy.world
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    6 hours ago

    So I worked for a big health insurance company for 11 years. Of which 4 of those I worked in international claims.
    We would get these claims from Mexico sometimes for people with terminal cancer.

    The companies were U.S companies, some canadian. But clinics were in Mexico.

    Ever see those commercials for “cancer treatment centers of America” where they promise new innovative and experimental treatments?

    They used to run commercials all the time. Well all the facilities are all located in Mexico.

    (Now it’s been about 6 years since I last worked there and maybe these companies don’t exist anymore. I hope not).

    Anywho. We would get these medical claims in for literally a few million dollars.

    For vitamin B shots. Water exercises. Massages.

    Nothing innovative. No actual cancer treatments.

    Just pain killers and vitamin B shots.

    People would stay there for a month or two then die. But that’s only part of the horror.

    The cancer centers would not release the bodies of the person until the debt was paid.

    Yeah they would hold them for ransom.

    That’s why desperate people would try to get the u.s health insurance company to pay some of it. But we wouldn’t. Because 1. It’s considered medical tourism. And 2. It’s not considered legitimate health care.

    We felt bad for the families whenever one of these claims came through. They would often submit it multiple times trying to get it paid. With letters begging us. Which is how we learned that these companies won’t release the body of the deceased until they were paid.

    They have been sued many times but still going strong.

    There are lots of them not just the one I mentioned.

    https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/enforcement/ctca-agreed-to-pay-82-million-for-allegedly-violating-the-civil-monetary-penalties-law-by-paying-remuneration-to-physicians-for-referrals/

    https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/consumer-group-says-most-u-s-cancer-centers-use-misleading-n934041

    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1878788/ Questionable cancer practices in Tijuana and other Mexican border clinics

    • quips@slrpnk.net
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      3 hours ago

      Why is medical tourism not covered? Seems like they should be on board with cost saving

  • BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today
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    3 hours ago

    That’s for whatever is left after a lifetime of being enticed into overspending on gambling, overpriced entertainment, expensive foods, cheap consumer goods, and desperately trying to keep up with aspirational lifestyles they see in the media.

  • minorkeys@lemmy.world
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    5 hours ago

    All business is built to extract as much resource control as possible from everywhere. The natural goal for all business is the complete control of everything, a monopoly on all resources, with zero responsibility.

    • grue@lemmy.world
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      5 hours ago

      No it’s not “natural,” because corporations themselves are not “natural.” We created them, and they’ve only gained more and more power and less and less accountability because we let them. It doesn’t have to be that way. Being granted a corporate charter is a privilege, not a right; we don’t have to let corporations that act against the public interest continue to exist.

      See also: https://reclaimdemocracy.org/corporate-accountability-history-corporations-us/

  • Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world
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    9 hours ago

    You’re completely right, but you could replace for profit healthcare with for profit anything and still be right.

  • NottaLottaOcelot@lemmy.ca
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    7 hours ago

    It’s not even necessarily better in places with some public healthcare. In Canada, although medical care is generally free, retirement residences are not. My grandmother is in her 90s and requires a memory care facility, which costs $8000 per month. She is very lucky to have an inflation indexed pension, and even with it her kids are having to supplement to pay the cost.

    The only thing you can do is hope never to require care.

  • humble_boatsman@sh.itjust.works
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    9 hours ago

    One of my highest concerns and grievances with working towards retirement in the US. Even if you do everything ’ right’. All it takes is a bad roll of the cancer dice and your family is fucked. Your hard work is washed down the drain. And there’s not a single political fuck in chance of reform in our lifetimes.

    • jtrek@startrek.website
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      7 hours ago

      I’m surprised there aren’t more cancer patients who decide fuck it and aggressively crash a board meeting.

      • LurkingLuddite@piefed.social
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        6 hours ago

        Far too many people do not see the equivalence between physical attack and financial attack. IMO, at a certain point it’s just fucking self defense…

  • SolidShake@lemmy.world
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    8 hours ago

    It’s a good thing (for the corps) that the US is filled with mostly morons who think that’s a good thing.

  • HubertManne@piefed.social
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    9 hours ago

    does not stop there also from the state. the whole medicare advantage is about billing for illnesses without effectively providing care.