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you're suggesting the guy should throw himself off a cliff?

by eecc 10y ago

harryh 10y ago
I'm not suggesting he do anything. In fact, I think his story is a great example of what makes the economics of health care so challenging. I was merely pointing out a connection from his personal story to the general topic of conversation that a lot of people don't seem to realize.
- seanp2k2 10y ago
  When the marker they use to draw a dot on where they need to cut you during surgery costs $50, it's hard for me to believe that the problem with health care is insurance companies not making enough money. Why does all this stuff cost so much in the first place? Medical equipment prices seem so far separated from reality that it's seriously laughable, and it'd be funny if it wasn't everyone who had to find a way to afford this junk. Go look at some prices for medical equipment (where you can even find prices) and see if those prices seem reasonable to you for the equipment. Let's find a way to fix that? This doesn't even touch how some hospitals / networks must buy from a specific vendor, or how vendors sell packages which include things the buyer doesn't need (at the same exorbitant prices).
  - wtbob 10y ago
    > When the marker they use to draw a dot on where they need to cut you during surgery costs $50, it's hard for me to believe that the problem with health care is insurance companies not making enough money. The insurance companies are the ones paying for that $50 dot. Well, after their discounts it's probably a $10 dot. It was either Time or Newsweek a few years back which had an excellent long-form article on where health-care spending goes. As I recall, it's not the insurance companies: it's the hospitals, physicians, nurses, other staff and an army of hangers-on and middlemen.
    - infinite_beam 10y ago
      Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us By Steven Brill Time Magazine Feb. 20, 2013. http://www.uta.edu/faculty/story/2311/Misc/2013,2,26,MedicalCostsDemandAndGreed.pdf http://www.uta.edu/faculty/story/2311/Misc/2013,2,26,Medical...

you're suggesting the guy should throw himself off a cliff?

by eecc 10y ago

you're suggesting the guy should throw himself off a cliff?

I'm not suggesting he do anything. In fact, I think his story is a great example of what makes the economics of health care so challenging. I was merely pointing out a connection from his personal story to the general topic of conversation that a lot of people don't seem to realize.

seanp2k2 10y ago
When the marker they use to draw a dot on where they need to cut you during surgery costs $50, it's hard for me to believe that the problem with health care is insurance companies not making enough money. Why does all this stuff cost so much in the first place? Medical equipment prices seem so far separated from reality that it's seriously laughable, and it'd be funny if it wasn't everyone who had to find a way to afford this junk. Go look at some prices for medical equipment (where you can even find prices) and see if those prices seem reasonable to you for the equipment. Let's find a way to fix that? This doesn't even touch how some hospitals / networks must buy from a specific vendor, or how vendors sell packages which include things the buyer doesn't need (at the same exorbitant prices).
- wtbob 10y ago
  > When the marker they use to draw a dot on where they need to cut you during surgery costs $50, it's hard for me to believe that the problem with health care is insurance companies not making enough money. The insurance companies are the ones paying for that $50 dot. Well, after their discounts it's probably a $10 dot. It was either Time or Newsweek a few years back which had an excellent long-form article on where health-care spending goes. As I recall, it's not the insurance companies: it's the hospitals, physicians, nurses, other staff and an army of hangers-on and middlemen.
  - infinite_beam 10y ago
    Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us By Steven Brill Time Magazine Feb. 20, 2013. http://www.uta.edu/faculty/story/2311/Misc/2013,2,26,MedicalCostsDemandAndGreed.pdf http://www.uta.edu/faculty/story/2311/Misc/2013,2,26,Medical...