3 ms·
> Which suggests to me that prices do not reflect actual cost, but rather inflated profit margins. There are lots of healthcare companies that are public. Hea
by conanbatt 8y ago
> Which suggests to me that prices do not reflect actual cost, but rather inflated profit margins.
There are lots of healthcare companies that are public. Healthcare insurance companies are amongst the lowest earnings of any insurance, contrary to the argumentational of Bernie Sanders.
Also, one of the biggest health insurance companies, blue cross, is a non-profit.
Furthermore, 60% of hospitals are non-profit. And hospitals are 30% of the national healthcare spending.
If we are theorizing at random on what changes could impact the cost-effectiveness of healthcare, it is the increase of profits, not the decrease, that would be a more significant change.
- bborud 8y agoSo how do you explain that getting treated at private hospitals (on your own dime) in Norway is cheaper than in the US?
- conanbatt 8y agoThat private healthcare in the us is heavily and negatively affected by regulation. US has.. - a very low doc/population count, due to the artificial constraints of medical licensing and immigration law. - a draconian FDA process for drugs and an unreasonable patent application to drugs. - An incredibly distortive public service implementation (Medicare) that provokes cost-shifting (by paying below cost), that creates heavy admin burden (fee-for-service), and that overpays specialties and punishes primary care (fix reimbursement fees in multiples for specialties, giving a very low primary care doc count) - An incredibly distortive tax credit for the wealthier to spend on healthcare (the richer you are, the more tax effective it is to get better insurance through your employer) - A free-market abolishing regulation requirement: tying healthcare provider to employer.