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If you are really interested, I highly recommend listening to this podcast episode: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/391/more-is-less http

If you are really interested, I highly recommend listening to this podcast episode: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/391/more-is-less http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/391/m... They explain in detail how our system works, explain the origins/history of it, and also explain WHY it is so expensive. It's not a mystery, really, especially for anyone who is involved. TL;TR: it's expensive because "medical professionals" are greedy: they do unnecessary procedures, hire and keep unnecessary bloated staff and, of course, they overcharge for everything. The probability of you being diagnosed with X goes up as the number of doctors specializing in X in your area increases (listen the podcast for source), that's because the assholes just can't stomach saying "there is nothing wrong with you" and letting profits fall. Besides, you can simply look around: there is no reason for doctors to be millionaires and drug sales reps to own aircraft. The system is expensive because capitalism in healthcare is nonsense: you get greedy assholes milking "customers" who are unconscious, scared or in pain. What's annoying is that doctors enjoy the unexplained immunity from public anger. It's always the "evil" insurance companies and "big pharma", or government regulators, who are to blame, while its not uncommon for American doctors to make million+ dollars a year delivering results that are no better of their French counterparts. I invite you to a typical cancer clinic in the US, you'll face devastated people who are dying, and who are getting ass-raped by handreds of thousands of dollars of medical bills on top of having an insurance. Those poor folks are sitting in lavish doctor's offices furnished with the most expensive hardwood flooring money can buy, surrounded by mind blowing numbers of "support staff" who have nothing to do with medicine, yet they too need to get paid. For anyone who's ever been to one, question of "why our heathcare so expensive" has an obvious, straight, screaming in your face answer. My personal solution is radical, simple and effective: ban drug commercials, introduce fixed salaries for doctors, and if someone's unhappy - GTFO, plus open visas for Indian/French/Canadian doctors who'll be more than happy to take their place. Yes, government is grossly inefficient, I know, but NOTHING can be worse that this mess we're in. The amount of money extorted from the public by "medical professionals" is just insane. I've worked for a semi-military contractor that was selling to the government, wasn't rosy, but not nearly as outrageous that this quasi-market monster of a healthcare we have.

old-gregg 16y ago
Nice. And all those downvotes are telling me that nothing will change for the better. There are simply too many smart and educated professionals who, not surprisingly, get outraged by the idea that charging money for healthcare is unethical and refuse the believe that capitalism just can't work in every facet of the society. (hey, why not switch to a private army then?)
- VladRussian 16y ago
  >hey, why not switch to a private army then? it's happened half-way in Iraq and all the way in Afghanistan. Contractors have 2 unbeatable advantages: 1. KIA contractors isn't a political liability like KIA soldiers and 2. contractors are outside of the law, thus can do things regular troops aren't allowed to
randallsquared 16y ago
"It's because those dirty, rotten scoundrels are greedy" isn't a sufficient explanation of why a sector is expensive. Greed drives prices down in at least some markets (food and computers, to pick two very different kinds of markets), so the question is why greed isn't making healthcare better, cheaper, and more widely available in the way that it has made groceries better, cheaper, and more widely available.
Someone 16y ago
I mostly agree with you, but you are forgetting the other side of the coin: the combination of patients that expect perfection and an out-of-control claims culture. Exaggerating: if a doctor explains that some thing (s)he can do has a 90% chance of relative success, at least 10% of patients will sue for malpractice (the unlucky 10% plus some that complain that the procedure didn't 100% work out as expected). Even if they do not get awarded compensations, the legal costs of this must be payed by someone.

old-gregg 16y ago

Nice. And all those downvotes are telling me that nothing will change for the better. There are simply too many smart and educated professionals who, not surprisingly, get outraged by the idea that charging money for healthcare is unethical and refuse the believe that capitalism just can't work in every facet of the society. (hey, why not switch to a private army then?)

VladRussian 16y ago
>hey, why not switch to a private army then? it's happened half-way in Iraq and all the way in Afghanistan. Contractors have 2 unbeatable advantages: 1. KIA contractors isn't a political liability like KIA soldiers and 2. contractors are outside of the law, thus can do things regular troops aren't allowed to

randallsquared 16y ago

"It's because those dirty, rotten scoundrels are greedy" isn't a sufficient explanation of why a sector is expensive. Greed drives prices down in at least some markets (food and computers, to pick two very different kinds of markets), so the question is why greed isn't making healthcare better, cheaper, and more widely available in the way that it has made groceries better, cheaper, and more widely available.

Someone 16y ago

I mostly agree with you, but you are forgetting the other side of the coin: the combination of patients that expect perfection and an out-of-control claims culture. Exaggerating: if a doctor explains that some thing (s)he can do has a 90% chance of relative success, at least 10% of patients will sue for malpractice (the unlucky 10% plus some that complain that the procedure didn't 100% work out as expected). Even if they do not get awarded compensations, the legal costs of this must be payed by someone.