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So you think if we take all these smaller insurance companies and combine them into one large entity that will fix our overpricing problems? It seems like we w

by pfisch 8y ago

So you think if we take all these smaller insurance companies and combine them into one large entity that will fix our overpricing problems? It seems like we will have even less recourse and there will be even less accountability when regulatory capture happens and prices are driven up even higher because all the lobbying money can be focused like a laser now. I also think the current system is totally fucked, but once the price concerns are made a tragedy of the commons through taxes the medical industry will drive prices even higher. Without attacking the corruption in the system I just don't think sweeping it under the rug and throwing it on the deficit is a good long term plan.

patmcc 8y ago
Literally every other developed nation has figured this out. Here's one way to solve this: single payer. The payer (government) sets the price and the doctors either accept it or stop treating patients. Maybe they'll bill 15% less a year, but they'll also never have to deal with this debt collecting bullshit, so they don't need as many staff.
- pfisch 8y ago
  Literally every other nation isn't captured by the medical/pharmaceutical industry. Our pharma industry is equivalent in size to the sum of every other pharma industry in the top 10 put together. Do any of those other countries have a policy that their government is not allowed to negotiate drug prices? Our medicare system has that rule. We have a system so incredibly captured by the pharma industry that it could actually approve a proposal that the government shouldn't negotiate drug prices with our own tax dollars. Even though everyone knows Medicare is going bankrupt, somehow we can just keep overpaying for drugs. The problem is that the biggest industries in any free country always take over politics and dictate the policies around their industry. That is why single payer will not be a panacea for us, it will be a feeding frenzy of government money being transferred to private industry. Until we make moves to clear out the corruption, granting the government more power to transfer our taxes to the pharma companies is just going to be a blood bath.
- speedplane 8y ago
  Most doctors don’t go into medical practice because they love medical billing, they do it to treat patients. As billing has increased in complexity, doctors are more often choosing to work for large hospitals with the infrastructure to deal with billing so they can focus on patients. The hospitals often pay less than private practices, but also come with fewer headaches, so many prefer them. If medical billing was simpler, doctors could potentially make more money, with less concentration of medical services in large providers (eg large hospitals) and more competition. This would likely benefit everyone except for large hospitals.

by pfisch 8y ago

patmcc 8y ago

Literally every other developed nation has figured this out. Here's one way to solve this: single payer. The payer (government) sets the price and the doctors either accept it or stop treating patients. Maybe they'll bill 15% less a year, but they'll also never have to deal with this debt collecting bullshit, so they don't need as many staff.

pfisch 8y ago
Literally every other nation isn't captured by the medical/pharmaceutical industry. Our pharma industry is equivalent in size to the sum of every other pharma industry in the top 10 put together. Do any of those other countries have a policy that their government is not allowed to negotiate drug prices? Our medicare system has that rule. We have a system so incredibly captured by the pharma industry that it could actually approve a proposal that the government shouldn't negotiate drug prices with our own tax dollars. Even though everyone knows Medicare is going bankrupt, somehow we can just keep overpaying for drugs. The problem is that the biggest industries in any free country always take over politics and dictate the policies around their industry. That is why single payer will not be a panacea for us, it will be a feeding frenzy of government money being transferred to private industry. Until we make moves to clear out the corruption, granting the government more power to transfer our taxes to the pharma companies is just going to be a blood bath.
speedplane 8y ago
Most doctors don’t go into medical practice because they love medical billing, they do it to treat patients. As billing has increased in complexity, doctors are more often choosing to work for large hospitals with the infrastructure to deal with billing so they can focus on patients. The hospitals often pay less than private practices, but also come with fewer headaches, so many prefer them. If medical billing was simpler, doctors could potentially make more money, with less concentration of medical services in large providers (eg large hospitals) and more competition. This would likely benefit everyone except for large hospitals.