Are animals becoming more nocturnal?

gebobs said:
8 shots of immune globulin, 4 shots of rabies vaxx.

$68,0000

Yeah, this country's healthcare system isn't broken much.

A kid in Florida died last year from rabies. His dumbass fatheor brought a rabid bat home for some unfathomable reason. Told the kid not to go near it. Of course, to a kid that mean definitely go near it. Bat bit the kid, gave him rabies. Supposedly, the father looked up what to do online or something and thought all he had to do was wash it out. Poor child died a horrific death.

I'm sure that's not the whole story. Sounds like the father was covering his ass. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he looked up what it would cost and, not having any insurance because yknow Obama is a commie, decided to throw dice on his child's life.
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Right. And I can see it playing out this way -

The father didn't treat the kid until he was at death's door. Then he took him to the ER. The ER moved him to the ICU and did everything they could, but could not save him. Bill - $134,000. Father, of course, cannot pay and doesn't have insurance.

Then the father sued the ER for not saving him. Legal bills for hospital - $1,098,000.

The next day the price of rabies prophylaxis went from $67,000 to $68,000 to pay for all that.

At least the lawyers get rich.
 
sideshowbob said:
Ah, but can a mind evolve to where it no longer boggles?
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The next step is "blowing your top" or "electro shock"...:eek: , followed by "perfect peace of mind"......:rolleyes:

p.s. The concept of "entanglement" even boggled Einstein's mind...:?
 
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sculptor said:
When?
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Prediction on what's happening in healthcare today.

Before Obamacare, people would show up at ER's for free care, then leave and not pay the bills. Indeed, republicans touted that as a way to get medical coverage without having to get a healthcare plan. And so the cost of ER's went up. (And now they will again, of course.)

People show up at ER's after waiting for far too long without getting any medical care for their gangrenous wound, or drug overdose, or gunshot wound. Then they go through an amputation, or nearly die, or lose liver function, or do die. And then they (or their family) sues the ER. And so the costs of ER's go up.

People try to get into the latest trial for a new experimental drug. And despite of being told all the risks, the new drug harms them, and they sue the drug manufacturer. And the price of new drugs goes up.

People get their kid vaccinated, and then that night they sleep next to them and the kid suffocates under the blanket. So they sue the vaccine manufacturer. And the price of vaccines go up.

Etc etc.
 
billvon said:
Prediction on what's happening in healthcare today.
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Every one of those predictive examples revolves around consumer lawsuits.
An odd focus. One doubts that as the primary driver.
The enormous cost burden of people relying on the ER for their medical care is hardly a consequence of ERs being sued for bad outcomes, for example. It's a consequence of timely and routine medical care being far less expensive than emergency care for situations that have become critical.
 
iceaura said:
Every one of those predictive examples revolves around consumer lawsuits.
An odd focus. One doubts that as the primary driver.
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It's not. It's just one of many factors. Here in the US, it's a fairly big factor.
The enormous cost burden of people relying on the ER for their medical care is hardly a consequence of ERs being sued for bad outcomes, for example.
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It is both a consequence _and_ a cause. The cost of medical lawsuits in the US is about $55 billion a year, and that includes the cost of defending against lawsuits, the increased cost of malpractice insurance as a result, the cost of "defensive medicine" (i.e. treatment that is not medically indicated but that might stop a lawsuit) - and all that money has to come from somewhere. Very often it comes from the hospital, which has fairly deep pockets.
 
And the hospital boosts their prices to make up the loss. Insured patients face higher premiums. It's the "death of a thousand cuts" ad nauseum.
 
Gawdzilla Sama said:
And the hospital boosts their prices to make up the loss. Insured patients face higher premiums. It's the "death of a thousand cuts" ad nauseum.
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Exactly. And it's no one incident, no one factor that led to the tens of thosands of dollars cost for that prophylaxis. It's a combination of all those lawsuits (and several other factors.)
 
billvon said:
Exactly. And it's no one incident, no one factor that led to the tens of thosands of dollars cost for that prophylaxis. It's a combination of all those lawsuits (and several other factors.)
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Yeah, like the stockholders want big dividends. "All the market will bear."
 
billvon said:
It is both a consequence _and_ a cause. The cost of medical lawsuits in the US is about $55 billion a year, and that includes the cost of defending against lawsuits, the increased cost of malpractice insurance as a result, the cost of "defensive medicine" (i.e. treatment that is not medically indicated but that might stop a lawsuit) - and all that money has to come from somewhere. Very often it comes from the hospital, which has fairly deep pockets.
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But this is not the major - or even a major - factor in the huge extra costs of medical care via neglect and ER.

And 55 billion is what - about 5% of medical care outlays in the US? Far less than 10%, anyway. And you would have to discount for benefits - it does provide some quality control, etc. The effects on quality of care, good or bad, seem to outweigh the financial burden of lawsuits.

Medical care in the US costs more than twice what it should. Not much of that extra flab is from lawsuits filed by patients and relatives.

But aside from my hospital experience being significantly nocturnal, I'm having trouble bringing this around to the thread.
 
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