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I agree with you on those problems but universal healthcare will make those problems worse not betterAnyone with a brain has to realize our present for profit health care system does not work and costs way too much. We pay almost twice as much per person as the next country and yet rank something like 37th in the world. We also have millions of people without insurance. I think that we do not really have a health care system. We have providers of service and providers of health care insurance. Both of these providers should be trying to provide the most health care at the least cost. Instead they try to provide the least amount of health care at the highest cost. And why can they do this, because of the lack of competition in health care in this country. When you want to buy a car you go around to several care dealers and get the most car you can afford at the least cost. NO one does that with health care. We either go to the closest doctor who provides the care we need or to one chosen by our insurance company. What we have is one of the most bloated systems which provides some of the worst outcomes in the world. Health care providers want to fully utilize the expensive equipment they buy so they over utilize high cost tests where simpler low cost tests would do as well. Drug companies raise prices a thousand fold to create huge profit levels after we give them monopoly over the drugs they create, without any controls. Our entire system is out of control and our government is doing nothing to correct the problem. Instead the very people we send to congress and the White House take millions of dollars from these drug companies, insuring nothing will be done. Now we are looking at a Medicare for all system. I am not sure it is the answer as it will create a period of time where once again the health care system will be in a huge flux. I do know that something has to be done to fix the problems before the system simply folds under its own bloated weight. Jut so you know I was part of the system for 40 years.
Anyone with a brain has to realize our present for profit health care system does not work and costs way too much. We pay almost twice as much per person as the next country and yet rank something like 37th in the world. We also have millions of people without insurance. I think that we do not really have a health care system. We have providers of service and providers of health care insurance. Both of these providers should be trying to provide the most health care at the least cost. Instead they try to provide the least amount of health care at the highest cost. And why can they do this, because of the lack of competition in health care in this country. When you want to buy a car you go around to several care dealers and get the most car you can afford at the least cost. NO one does that with health care. We either go to the closest doctor who provides the care we need or to one chosen by our insurance company. What we have is one of the most bloated systems which provides some of the worst outcomes in the world. Health care providers want to fully utilize the expensive equipment they buy so they over utilize high cost tests where simpler low cost tests would do as well. Drug companies raise prices a thousand fold to create huge profit levels after we give them monopoly over the drugs they create, without any controls. Our entire system is out of control and our government is doing nothing to correct the problem. Instead the very people we send to congress and the White House take millions of dollars from these drug companies, insuring nothing will be done. Now we are looking at a Medicare for all system. I am not sure it is the answer as it will create a period of time where once again the health care system will be in a huge flux. I do know that something has to be done to fix the problems before the system simply folds under its own bloated weight. Jut so you know I was part of the system for 40 years.
You would think but it does not work this way in my experience.Anyone with a brain has to realize our present for profit health care system does not work and costs way too much. We pay almost twice as much per person as the next country and yet rank something like 37th in the world. We also have millions of people without insurance. I think that we do not really have a health care system. We have providers of service and providers of health care insurance. Both of these providers should be trying to provide the most health care at the least cost. Instead they try to provide the least amount of health care at the highest cost. And why can they do this, because of the lack of competition in health care in this country. When you want to buy a car you go around to several care dealers and get the most car you can afford at the least cost. NO one does that with health care. We either go to the closest doctor who provides the care we need or to one chosen by our insurance company. What we have is one of the most bloated systems which provides some of the worst outcomes in the world. Health care providers want to fully utilize the expensive equipment they buy so they over utilize high cost tests where simpler low cost tests would do as well. Drug companies raise prices a thousand fold to create huge profit levels after we give them monopoly over the drugs they create, without any controls. Our entire system is out of control and our government is doing nothing to correct the problem. Instead the very people we send to congress and the White House take millions of dollars from these drug companies, insuring nothing will be done. Now we are looking at a Medicare for all system. I am not sure it is the answer as it will create a period of time where once again the health care system will be in a huge flux. I do know that something has to be done to fix the problems before the system simply folds under its own bloated weight. Jut so you know I was part of the system for 40 years.
Anyone with a brain has to realize our present for profit health care system does not work and costs way too much. We pay almost twice as much per person as the next country and yet rank something like 37th in the world. We also have millions of people without insurance. I think that we do not really have a health care system. We have providers of service and providers of health care insurance. Both of these providers should be trying to provide the most health care at the least cost. Instead they try to provide the least amount of health care at the highest cost. And why can they do this, because of the lack of competition in health care in this country. When you want to buy a car you go around to several care dealers and get the most car you can afford at the least cost. NO one does that with health care. We either go to the closest doctor who provides the care we need or to one chosen by our insurance company. What we have is one of the most bloated systems which provides some of the worst outcomes in the world. Health care providers want to fully utilize the expensive equipment they buy so they over utilize high cost tests where simpler low cost tests would do as well. Drug companies raise prices a thousand fold to create huge profit levels after we give them monopoly over the drugs they create, without any controls. Our entire system is out of control and our government is doing nothing to correct the problem. Instead the very people we send to congress and the White House take millions of dollars from these drug companies, insuring nothing will be done. Now we are looking at a Medicare for all system. I am not sure it is the answer as it will create a period of time where once again the health care system will be in a huge flux. I do know that something has to be done to fix the problems before the system simply folds under its own bloated weight. Jut so you know I was part of the system for 40 years.
Anyone with a brain has to realize our present for profit health care system does not work and costs way too much. We pay almost twice as much per person as the next country and yet rank something like 37th in the world. We also have millions of people without insurance. I think that we do not really have a health care system. We have providers of service and providers of health care insurance. Both of these providers should be trying to provide the most health care at the least cost. Instead they try to provide the least amount of health care at the highest cost. And why can they do this, because of the lack of competition in health care in this country. When you want to buy a car you go around to several care dealers and get the most car you can afford at the least cost. NO one does that with health care. We either go to the closest doctor who provides the care we need or to one chosen by our insurance company. What we have is one of the most bloated systems which provides some of the worst outcomes in the world. Health care providers want to fully utilize the expensive equipment they buy so they over utilize high cost tests where simpler low cost tests would do as well. Drug companies raise prices a thousand fold to create huge profit levels after we give them monopoly over the drugs they create, without any controls. Our entire system is out of control and our government is doing nothing to correct the problem. Instead the very people we send to congress and the White House take millions of dollars from these drug companies, insuring nothing will be done. Now we are looking at a Medicare for all system. I am not sure it is the answer as it will create a period of time where once again the health care system will be in a huge flux. I do know that something has to be done to fix the problems before the system simply folds under its own bloated weight. Jut so you know I was part of the system for 40 years.
I think you may overestimate how well other countries are doing with this problem. Universal public might have some better averages/costs but fails to account for many factors of better individual outcomes. Often trading longterm wins for short-term outcomes with a sprinkling of pumping statistics for politics. Lots to learn but no one I've seen with a sustainable/transferable model. The current high pubic expense problem is odd but when you realize how we basically cover the highest risk, not that outrageous and certainly more than just being in a for profit environment. That said, I certainly share many of your concerns and would agree we need to see many changes soon, probably from some hybrid of both right & left approaches.Anyone with a brain has to realize our present for profit health care system does not work and costs way too much. We pay almost twice as much per person as the next country and yet rank something like 37th in the world. We also have millions of people without insurance. I think that we do not really have a health care system. We have providers of service and providers of health care insurance. Both of these providers should be trying to provide the most health care at the least cost. Instead they try to provide the least amount of health care at the highest cost. And why can they do this, because of the lack of competition in health care in this country. When you want to buy a car you go around to several care dealers and get the most car you can afford at the least cost. NO one does that with health care. We either go to the closest doctor who provides the care we need or to one chosen by our insurance company. What we have is one of the most bloated systems which provides some of the worst outcomes in the world. Health care providers want to fully utilize the expensive equipment they buy so they over utilize high cost tests where simpler low cost tests would do as well. Drug companies raise prices a thousand fold to create huge profit levels after we give them monopoly over the drugs they create, without any controls. Our entire system is out of control and our government is doing nothing to correct the problem. Instead the very people we send to congress and the White House take millions of dollars from these drug companies, insuring nothing will be done. Now we are looking at a Medicare for all system. I am not sure it is the answer as it will create a period of time where once again the health care system will be in a huge flux. I do know that something has to be done to fix the problems before the system simply folds under its own bloated weight. Jut so you know I was part of the system for 40 years.
Why our for profit health care system does not work!
Simple: because prices don't "go retro."
We have two major issues driving up healthcare costs, insurance and government. Like you stated, when you have no competition due to not being able to compare prices you are going to get inflated prices.
Also, if you look at the industries with the highest rising costs (healthcare, housing, education) it is typically going to be those that are more regulated.
When a free market is allowed to work outside of government intervention, quality goes up and costs come down.
For instance, Lasik eye surgery is an elective surgery thus it is not heavily regulated and insurances don't cover it forcing the consumers to shop around for it should they choose to have it done. In the last 15 years the prices have plummeted from 10k per eye to 1-3k per eye and as long as the government stays out of it then it will continue to drop as the technology becomes cheaper and more accessible as with every other industry.
We have two major issues driving up healthcare costs, insurance and government.
No one has mentioned the insurance companies. They have stock holders that need to be kept satisfied. On the care end, professionals over test not only to get ROI of the expensive equipment, but also to cover themselves if the find themselves on the wrong side of a malpractice suit. As for a safety net, drop by your local ER Friday or Saturday evening. We all pay for those treatments. As far as life-style, (smoking, drinking, sedentary, over-eating) choices no one wants restrictions on what they can buy or do. Then there are the lobbyists that make above average money keeping Congress ears and coffers/bellies full. Check out what some industries pay in lobbying per year.
The link is just one example, pay attention to where the commas are:
https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/top.php?indexType=s
Well, those may be causing inefficiencies in its delivery. But here is the main driver of rising healthcare costs: advancing science and technology. Back in the 18th century, healthcare meant if someone was sick, no matter what the cause ( because who really knew after all?), you wrapped a tourniquet around their arm, cut a vein, and bled them a little into a basin to “let out the evil humors”. It kept healthcare costs very low.
Now, every year, there are new drugs, new science, new imaging technology, new surgical procedures, new equipment, etc, etc...Society’s tacit expectation of medicine, the goal and ideal which it wants it to strive for, is immortality in perfect health. And until that goal is reached, healthcare costs will keep rising.
How to fix it? I don’t know. But to solve a problem, you first have to be clear what it is. You can’t just keep blaming government, or insurance companies, or doctors ( whose net income has actually been going down since the late 1980s), or pharma, or hospitals, etc...
What society really should be asking itself is: how much is it willing to pay for immortality in perfect health? And how quickly does it want to get there?
Who really knew healthcare could be so complicated, right?
Yes but then you say this..
Healthcare is NOT regulated... having industries bribe themselves into regional or local monopolies is not "over regulation".. it is a failure of regulation.
Nope, been proven over and over again that this is false. True free market leads to monopoly and higher prices because one or more actors in the market will do anything to gain the upper hand and reduce the competition. In fact the current situation is the result of "unregulated free market practices", where bribing your local politician to establish regional monopolies is not even illegal.
Again you are mixing up regulation and lack of regulation. Lasik eye surgery is regulated (the pizza dude cant preform it as far as I know), but what is different is that the lasik eye industry has not bribed government to establish local/regional monopolies.
Like it or not, within the regional monopolies that the industries have created, there is next to no regulation other than basic "must have doctor license" which is why they can get away with insane prices and practices.
What is needed is much much more regulation that is designed to promote and maintain competition in the health insurance industry and healthcare industry.
Well, you list a lot of hasty generalizations without bothering to explain why they actually exist, then propose government "do something about it." :roll:
What EXACTLY do you think government should do? Who EXACTLY is supposed to pay for whatever is done?
1. It takes the time of skilled research scientists to develop medicines, anti-virals, anti-bacterials, testing methodologies, and all the tools, machines, and other means of examining patients to support medical practitioners in rendering a valid diagnosis and treatment plan.
2. It takes YEARS of training to create a medical doctor or a medical researcher. That's not even talking about the education and training of those in medical support fields.
3. It takes many different types of manufacturing businesses to produce the medicines, tools, electronics, machinery, etc. necessary to treat patients. Then the technicians to maintain those gee-whiz machines.
4. Don't forget the Facilities (hospitals, clinics, etc.) for the care and treatment of patients have to be constructed and maintained.
Strangely, none of this simply falls from the sky like manna from heaven. It COSTS money.
Now people seeking to enter into any endeavor also typically seek to profit thereby in some way. They want all their time and commitment to be rewarded with more that just a smile (since that does not pay the rent, put food on the table, or clothes on their kids backs).
Then there is always the risk of injury or contagions from constant contact with those suffering some illness to contend with.
How do you motivate quality people to do such work if your only response is "give the government control." Just ask any Veteran who has ever dealt with the VA Medical system how well that works.
So instead of a general complaint, how about some hard facts and a clear outline of how you'd like this to work. Then a discussion might be had. :coffeepap:
Lol, Healthcare is one of the most heavily regulated industries in the US. It helps to know what you are talking about, however it is understandable that a foreigner wouldn't know that.
The government can't run a healthcare system that serves 9 million people. How the hell is it going to run a system that serves 350 million?
Technological advancement increases quality and reduces costs over time. Sure, at first new technology is expensive but over time new technologies are found raising the quality and lower costs of the previous technology. Large flat screen TV's used to be incredibly expensive, now even those in the poorest of neighborhoods have them as they are more affordable.
There is no regulation because the rules are designed to protect business and not the consumer.... Which is my point by saying there is no regulation.Lol, Healthcare is one of the most heavily regulated industries in the US. It helps to know what you are talking about, however it is understandable that a foreigner wouldn't know that.
Actually it is regulated for quality of service, not for cost unless the Government is paying the bill. Even then, Medicare is not allowed to negotiate the cost of meds, which creates a huge profit center for drug companies and is one of the reasons we pay more for meds in this country than any other in the world.
Sure. But new technology keeps coming. The average person today spends far more on technology than they did 50 years ago. And that’s despite the fact that, as you rightly point out, the costs of individual things have come down.
New diseases keep getting described. Treatments for diseases previously thought uncurable are becoming available. Clever new surgical procedures keep getting developed. New laboratory tests are being described. It’s a never ending avalanche.
Actually you are wrong, the Medicare system is by far the most economical system in our country. Yes people can cheat the system, they also cheat the for profit systems. One reason the Medicare system is cheaper is the cost of administration. The admin costs for Medicare is about 6.5%, while the admin costs of for profits average above 25%. When you see the salary and bonuses paid to for profit CEO's, remember, that is you dollars paying for those millions.
There is no regulation because the rules are designed to protect business and not the consumer.... Which is my point by saying there is no regulation.
For example. Government is not allow to negotiate drug prices as per regulation... Why on earth would such a regulation exist? Well since the regulation was dictated by the industry it self, then you have your answer.
Or the fact that local government regulate that only one insurance company could work in a state....Wonder why that was allowed....
While all this is "regulations", they are hardly put in place to help and protect the consumer which is normally the goal of any and all regulations in the first place....
Point is that we constantly hear this red tape argument by the US right and yet they are its main defenders when it comes to healthcare...
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