Vigorish that would shame Tony Soprano
By donsurber on Canada
Recently I posted an e-mail from a Canadian reader on his experiences with the Canadian health care system, "Great health system unless you're sick." He sent me another e-mail outlining how instead of buying something for $899.95 outright, the Canadian health bureaucracy would rather pay $331 a month rent. This may be why Canada does not have enough neonatal intensive care beds to handle a set of quadruplets.
I was flattered you published my e-mail.
A follow up.
I was at dad's house helping him with his bill payments and I found the bill for his oxygen concentrator. The supplier of it leases it to dad through a part of the medicare system called AADL, which is Alberta Aids to Daily Living. My dad pays $82.75 per month but the total charge is $331 per month with AADL picking up the difference.
My dad's machine is a Respironics Millenium 5 LPM machine, model 605. A quick google tells me I can buy it for $899.95..
I called my dad's supplier and spoke to one of those enormously competent gravel voiced female administrator types. She gave me a wealth of information. She told me that my dad also gets service for the machine every 6 months and free repairs if it fails and free oxygen bottles for traveling about town. She also quoted me $4,000.00 plus for a portable machine. She told me that if my dad wanted a dual unit, that is it can plug in to a car cigarette lighter or household current, she could get me one but there was no government subsidy. Why? The government ain't interested in dad's convenience. The Millennium is on the list, nothing else is, they don't care if another machine more convenient for the patient is the same price, a better price or the patient is prepared to pay more.
They. Don't. Care. That's it. That's all.
The pricing on this whole mess is a complete disgrace. Taxpayers, including my dad, are paying $331 per month for a machine that retails for $900. I'll give them 4 service calls a year at $200 a pop, even though my dad's caregiver says it does not happen that often, $200 is pretty high for a guy to come and read dials and replace a filter, which is what the gravel voiced gal tells me is what happens and notwithstanding these are high reliability units with a 5 year parts and labour guarantee.
My dad does not use the oxygen cylinders much, but gravel voice tells me that if he were a cash customer they would rent for $3 per month and cost $10 to fill, with free delivery. This means the real cost of those bottles is near zero. I suppose it's possible that some old guy or gal goes through huge numbers of bottles every mionth, but I doubt it - these are old people with seriously wrecked lungs who don't go out much.
That machine pays for itself every 6 months, easily. Big Oil is happy with a five year payout on a risky venture like drilling an oil well. If they get a 3 year payout they think they've died and gone to heaven. A 6 month payout is so gross, so usurious, so foul, so immoral as to be unimaginable to me, particularly when on the backs of sick old people and the taxpayer. This is vigorish that Tony Soprano would be ashamed to take.
One of the interesting things I found was that Canadian web-sites that sell or lease this stuff seem not to quote a price. Why is that do you suppose? Perhaps they are ashamed of their enormous profit margins.
I have been describing my source at dad's supplier as gravel voice not out of direspect, but to protect her identity. I told her I was thinking of getting my dad off their rental system, buying and writing a letter exposing this and she encouraged me. If the mess is cleaned up it will probably cost her a job, but I don't want her employer to fire her just for telling me the truth.
If you would like I will black out my dad's name and the supplier name and information and send you the billings.
One of the best parts is the cover letter for the billings which says "AADL and the Respiratory Vendors have recently negotiated a new pricing…" Must have been one hell of a negotiation. I can just see it now:
Supplier: We want $250 per month.
Government Johny: No, no that's crazy, take more, how about $300.00.
Supplier: Never, we won't settle for a penny less than $331.
Government Johny: Well that's outrageously low, but you can always demand more next year and we'll roll over even more then.
Cheers from the Great White North
The health care system always looks greener on the other side of the 49th parallel. |
