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The largest insurer in the US covers more people than the NHS. The second and third largest insurers rival other continental health services.
by replicatorblog 10y ago
The largest insurer in the US covers more people than the NHS. The second and third largest insurers rival other continental health services.
- omegaworks 10y agoPlease offer an alternative rationale for why they aren't as effective. I'm trying to understand why US healthcare is so broken.
- refurb 10y agoIt's easy. The UK can say "no" to paying for certain drugs. They take some political flak for it, but overall they've been able to keep spending down. Even mention not paying for something in the US and holy hell happens. Even Medicare and Medicaid can't say no for the most part. If American's want cheaper healthcare they are going to have to get used to having less of it and not get all the fancy new technology right away.
- woofyman 10y agoInsurance companies only pay for what they consider usual and customary.
- omegaworks 10y ago>It's easy. No, clearly it's not. I work for a startup that's delivering health services. Insurance companies have a very high bar for what they cover. They are very conservative about covering new therapies. There's a lot of snake oil in medicine (acupuncture, homeopathy) and they don't want to pay for what doesn't keep their members healthy.
- refurb 10y agoIt's not easy to execute, but it's easy to figure out one of the key drivers of increased costs in the US. Compare drug coverage in the US vs. Canada or the UK. New drugs are often covered immediately post-FDA approval in the US. Heck, look at Exondys 51 for Duchenne's. The FDA barely approved it and pretty much every US insurer is paying for it. That doesn't happen in other countries. A great example is the diabetes drug called Jardiance. It has better efficacy than older drugs and every US insurer covers it. It's not covered in many Canadian provinces.