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The reason that you can't get quotes beforehand is because the providers literally do not know what it will end up costing you. Because the system was design t
by e40 11y ago
The reason that you can't get quotes beforehand is because the providers literally do not know what it will end up costing you.
Because the system was design that way. Time and materials vs. fixed price. Most of the rest of the world is on fixed price. We seem to think that's a socialist (or communist, depending on who you talk with) idea.
The problem with T&M is there is no incentive to save money, when it wouldn't affect the outcome. That extra test? Sure! Want your "friend" to stand in with you in the operating theater, even though it adds $50k to the bill, no problem! (This last thing I read about... just mind blowing.)
- chimeracoder 11y ago> Most of the rest of the world is on fixed price No, "most" of the rest of the world is very much not, either by number of countries or by population. The original post is specifically about cheap, high-quality care in India, where medical care is completely self-pay. There are both advantages and disadvantages to capitation, though that's a digression from the main discussion.
- mindslight 11y agoYou can't really call the US system "time and materials" either, as that would still imply some ahead-of-time insight into the pricing structure.