Not sure if this would work but if we’re going to reform the Affordable Care Act then one thing I believe it should cover is;
Annual full body MRIs
I truly think this would be proactive in catching so many problems and diseases. Things X-rays don’t catch. I made this realization when thinking about getting a mammogram, however upon further research discovering that mammograms are not terribly effective and could potentially cause more damage. Which leads me to wish I could get an MRI.
Personal experience also included my husband having to fight for VA disability because of problems with his shoulder that x-rays did not show problems with. It wasn’t until he actually got an MRI that it showed he had soft tissue damage.
With 346,000,000 people in the U.S. getting annual MRI’s @ approx. $2000 at a pop – this comes to roughly 3/4ths of a trillion dollars per year. And this doesn’t even address the massive power consumption costs, perhaps requiring its own mini nuclear reactor to keep the machines running non-stop with rotating appointments. (MRIs suck a lot of power to create those powerful electromagnetic fields).
Unless we uncover some hidden black budget technology for almost free/limitless energy to drive the costs much further downward, I cannot see this being affordable, even though I completely agree and would love the idea, since such a comprehensive imaging history on patients would reveal many ongoing impacts and changes in our bodies related to injuries, diseases, and age. The cause is a noble one, but the costs seem a bit on the prohibitive side. Cross your fingers that those rumored state-of-the-art “Medbeds” are a reality. This would serve your policy proposal well, I think.
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100 percent in agreement
The so called ACA is a PIECE OF JUNK! IT SHOULD B SCRAPPED AND RPLACD WITH REAL INSURANCE, and people now excluded should be REINSTATED!
PARTIAL MRIs often cost MORE than $2000! BTW the whole Medical industry is a virtual SCAM, and there are at least SOME ways to lower costs on internal imaging by as much as 75%! I one time went to a hospital and got an odd call. I NEVER GOT IT BEFORE, though I OFTN had the EXACT same circumstances!!!
You see, my bill, FOR ANOTHER TYPE OF INTERNAL IMAGING(NOT MRI) was going to be over $3000! THAT wasn’t unusual! What WAS unusual was that I was suddenly listed as having NO insurance! BECAUSE of that, and an obscure state law, the hospital HAD to give me a lower price! THEY ACTUALLY SAID I COULD BUY A VOUCHER! SAME TEST, SAME OPTIONS, SAME HOSPITAL, SAME EQUIPMENT, SAME OPERATOR, SAME TIME, SAME APPOINTMENT! So WHAT was different? It cost roughly $800!
Just ONE example! ALSO, there is a “CODING” scam that took ovr the industry a few decades ago! Doctors will use a lower code to cloud the issue. They will THEN get a HIGHER price for the operations, etc… My father had a doctor that said he needed this device. It would cost THOUSANDS of dollars. Th doctor, being a friend of my father, said he could go to the drug store and buy one for less than $20! He DID!
There is also a company that offers some internal imaging for about $150. Thy have it in various areas like 4 times a year. One time, they found an aneurysm I had and said I should go to the hospital ASAP! I DID! The hospital did it again to validate it. I DID have one, and they later did it with MRI, IIRC, to get a better handle on it. But at least they found it, and it cost a fraction of what the hospital charged.