Jim wrote:
H the K wrote:
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07102009/watch2.html



I'm going to defy the truce, which I shouldn't do.

Had an interesting discussion yesterday. Out of a group three of us
dock neighbors, two just had Colonoscopys. Both had two polyps removed.

Third guy, a liveaboard who makes his living doing odd jobs, said he
(age 53) could never afford a Colonoscopy, as he had no health insurance
(or an actual job) he has other things to pay for.

I did some looking, a Colonoscopy costs from a low of $650, to about $3200.

The fourth guy, whose boat is between ours, age 55, has never had a
colonoscopy, wasn't there as he just had surgery for Colorectal cancer.
Starts chemo next week. No one knows this except me, so I couldn't
throw it out as an example.

I'm sure that the guy who cannot afford an exam would be taken care of
if he had cancer, and it would cost you and I far more than the cost of
the exam.

We don't put the effort into prevention, but spend a lot on treatment.

Wellness is cheap. Cancer surgery and chemotherapy is expensive.

Oh, and one thing I have learned recently, is that someone paying cash
usually gets a discount. In my case (the doctor I saw was "out of the
network") the charge went from $660 to $400.

I'm thinking that $650 Colonoscopy would cost someone about $400 cash,
which is better than $100,000 for cancer surgery and Chemo.