Will Trump behave himself at the G20 summit?

[dmc]

I am not familiar with that study-- can you remember when you saw that, so we can look for a link?

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/low...of2&yptr=yahoo

[catherine]

I don't know that I disagree with their actions. If you are elderly, the last months of your life can be very very expensive. Both parents were in hospice care, but the expenses are still heroic. And if the patient wishes treatment instead, I imagine the costs are even more special - the dose of the cutting-edge cancer medication that they were arranging for my father-in-law was going to be > $20k. (And it would be easy to shriek "Greed! Profits!", but I simply have no foundation to analyze the cost situation for that medication.)

My mother-in-law died in Vermont, on the last day of our annual family vacation, at Bennington Hospital. We had to make a decision to either let her go, or put her through surgery. It was interesting because it was a Friday night, and the hospital was what you would imagine for a small VT hospital, and there was only one surgeon there, a doctor who was well on in years himself. He gently counseled us on the value of sparing my MIL the surgery, and to discern whether it should be done just because it's available and MIGHT give her a few months, or whether it's her time to go. We decided to let her go and she died the next day.

I've always wondered what if we had been in New Jersey and had taken her to one of the big academic teaching hospitals in the area? Would they have pushed for surgery? Would the dialogue have been different? Would we have made a different decision?

I think we made the right one. She was frugal to a fault, too.

[Tybee]

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/low...of2&yptr=yahoo

Thanks!

[iris lilies]

First, I expect that quarter of a million figure was wildly inflated on paper, but still--how the hell do medical "care" providers get off charging such exorbitant amounts? I'd love to see an accounting of actual costs, minus profit margins, kickbacks, and padding. The one time I had an operation, some forty years ago, I was charged $70 for a light used in the surgical theater. Really? But back then, I could have easily paid for the whole thing. Not any more.

yes, my friend who pays cash for extensive medical treatments Including cancer treatment, negotiated her $240,000 hospital bill down to $75,000 cash payment. That was the amount for two surgeries in a ten day hospital stay when she was hit by a car. But she is not the norm by any means.

[Tybee]

My mother-in-law died in Vermont, on the last day of our annual family vacation, at Bennington Hospital. We had to make a decision to either let her go, or put her through surgery. It was interesting because it was a Friday night, and the hospital was what you would imagine for a small VT hospital, and there was only one surgeon there, a doctor who was well on in years himself. He gently counseled us on the value of sparing my MIL the surgery, and to discern whether it should be done just because it's available and MIGHT give her a few months, or whether it's her time to go. We decided to let her go and she died the next day.

I've always wondered what if we had been in New Jersey and had taken her to one of the big academic teaching hospitals in the area? Would they have pushed for surgery? Would the dialogue have been different? Would we have made a different decision?

I think we made the right one.

What an interesting story. I think you are quite right, it probably would have been different in NJ, and not for the better.

[Teacher Terry]

Some wealthy people do not care about others. Until his family experiences real tragedy he will never understand or care about the plight of others. You can't make someone have a conscience or have empathy. Bae, I have had family members die from cancer with hospice at home and it was not expensive because they were not seeking treatment. Yes there was some expense for the home health aid to bathe them twice/week and a nurse a few times week also. I think both your MIL and FIL saved themselves a lot of suffering by going early as it is very painful to die of cancer. I have seen it happen too many times. IL: yes some pre-existing conditions are caused by lifestyle but many are caused by genes. Everyone on my Mom's side of family get HBP at about age 31. Despite healthy living, good diets, regular exercise they still all get it. One of my sons who is very healthy, hikes all the time etc got it at 31. I got it at 50 despite not being overweight and walking 6 miles a day. All my sibs have it too. Everyone on my Mom's side of the family has died of cancer. If we are going to start judging others by lifestyle then we also will have to decide who is worthy and who is not. Yes Rob should feel grateful for his HI paying his bills. If we had single payer he would never have to worry about it. We spend a small fortune on defense and helping other countries instead of our own people. We could easily fund HI with that $. IL: my friend's story was to illustrate that eventually you run out of $ for healthcare. The poor man worked until a year before he died. He worked when incredibly sick at age 66 trying to keep the paycheck rolling in. No one should have to do that.

[Teacher Terry]

Catherine, you made the right decision.

[Tybee]

Okay, having looked at the link, and it's an interesting story, for sure, here is quote:
"People who make the most money spend the biggest chunk of their incomes on luxury goods, but even the poorest households spend a significant amount on luxuries, according to an analysis released The wealthiest families (the top fifth of earners) spend around 65% of their incomes on luxury goods and 35% on necessities, according to the study, which looked at spending habits between 1984 and 2014. Middle-income households weren’t far behind: They spend 50% on luxuries and 50% on necessities.
Even the lowest-income families (the bottom fifth of earners) spend 40% on luxuries and 60% on necessities, according to the study’s author, Torsten Slok, chief international economist for Deutsche Bank Securities."
But I am very confused by what follows;
"It’s worth noting that by the specialized nomenclature of the dismal science, even eating at McDonald’s is a luxury — that is, we do it more as our incomes rise — while smoking and lottery-ticket buying are categorized as necessities. For its part, the Deutsche Bank report explicitly defined luxuries as goods or services consumed in greater proportions as a person’s income increases and necessities as those goods or services that make up a smaller proportion of spending as a person’s income increases."

The way that is written, lottery tickets and smoking are necessities--which does not make sense. It would follow if you made 10,000 a year, McDonald's would take up more of your money than if you made 100,000?

[Teacher Terry]

Thanks DMC for pointing out that eating is a luxury whereas smoking and lottery tickets are necessities. Total garbage study

[Tybee]

Those are not DMC's categories, they were the categories of Deutschebank. It was how DB defined luxuries that I was questioning, not something DMC asserted.