3 ms·

Why should we have to figure this shit out for them at all!? This procedure costs $x because it is the oecd average cost and that is the end of the discussion.

by pfisch 8y ago

Why should we have to figure this shit out for them at all!? This procedure costs $x because it is the oecd average cost and that is the end of the discussion. It is on them to fight over their slices of the pie with each other. They don't get to make their problems our problems. Its not realistic to act like people have time to price compare for emergency medical services. It just isn't a normal free market so much as it is like a mugging. When you get mugged the question is how much will you trade for your life, and the answer is everything you have. We need to stop pretending like it is a free market and trying to apply free market solutions that do not apply.

AnthonyMouse 8y ago
> This procedure costs $x because it is the oecd average cost and that is the end of the discussion. It is on them to fight over their slices of the pie with each other. When their costs are lower than the OECD average then you're still paying too much, but it's even worse when they're higher. Each country has different regulations, taxes and subsidies, real estate costs, medical licensing rules and supply of medical professionals, average income and cost of living which affects how much workers have to be paid etc. When the OECD average price for a procedure is $5000 but the zero-profit cost of doing it in your country is $7000, nobody will do it. Or the provider who already owns the equipment as a sunk cost will do it, but the waiting list for the procedure will be 22 months. (Hopefully it's not related to an active pregnancy.) > Its not realistic to act like people have time to price compare for emergency medical services. It's not realistic to act like all medical services are emergencies. Most of them aren't, what's the excuse then? And once you have a baseline for what a procedure costs in a competitive market on a non-emergent basis in your location, it becomes a lot easier to identify a 10,000% markup for no reason in an emergency situation as manifestly unreasonable.
- pfisch 8y ago
  The only way the profits could be 0 is if people's salaries are too high. Vet school costs a lot, almost as much as medical school. Yet the procedures are much, much cheaper. Probably because vets are paid half as much or less than doctors.
  - AnthonyMouse 8y ago
    > The only way the profits could be 0 is if people's salaries are too high. Salaries are supply and demand. If you lower salaries you get fewer doctors -- you have to convince people to go to medical school instead of law school or business school. And the OECD average salary may be too low if the relevant city has a higher cost of living than the OECD average, requiring higher salaries to get people to practice there rather than somewhere their money goes further.

by pfisch 8y ago

AnthonyMouse 8y ago

> This procedure costs $x because it is the oecd average cost and that is the end of the discussion. It is on them to fight over their slices of the pie with each other. When their costs are lower than the OECD average then you're still paying too much, but it's even worse when they're higher. Each country has different regulations, taxes and subsidies, real estate costs, medical licensing rules and supply of medical professionals, average income and cost of living which affects how much workers have to be paid etc. When the OECD average price for a procedure is $5000 but the zero-profit cost of doing it in your country is $7000, nobody will do it. Or the provider who already owns the equipment as a sunk cost will do it, but the waiting list for the procedure will be 22 months. (Hopefully it's not related to an active pregnancy.) > Its not realistic to act like people have time to price compare for emergency medical services. It's not realistic to act like all medical services are emergencies. Most of them aren't, what's the excuse then? And once you have a baseline for what a procedure costs in a competitive market on a non-emergent basis in your location, it becomes a lot easier to identify a 10,000% markup for no reason in an emergency situation as manifestly unreasonable.

pfisch 8y ago
The only way the profits could be 0 is if people's salaries are too high. Vet school costs a lot, almost as much as medical school. Yet the procedures are much, much cheaper. Probably because vets are paid half as much or less than doctors.
- AnthonyMouse 8y ago
  > The only way the profits could be 0 is if people's salaries are too high. Salaries are supply and demand. If you lower salaries you get fewer doctors -- you have to convince people to go to medical school instead of law school or business school. And the OECD average salary may be too low if the relevant city has a higher cost of living than the OECD average, requiring higher salaries to get people to practice there rather than somewhere their money goes further.