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> Preventative care is cheaper than emergency care A trope without rigour. The health community is even putting into question the value of yearly checkups (i.e

> Preventative care is cheaper than emergency care A trope without rigour. The health community is even putting into question the value of yearly checkups (i.e. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/a-checkup-for-the-checkup-do-you-really-need-a-yearly-physical-201510238473 https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/a-checkup-for-the-checku...). It's not "flipping a switch". > When everyone (including the unemployed) can get preventative care, total costs go down. This is one side of the coin: when everyone goes to the doctor on a cold, total costs go way up. Its an economic problem, it requires economic solutions. Private insurance, for all its bad rep, has very strong incentives to have proper utilization. More so than government: when a patient gets hospitalized, insurance loses money. Govt never loses money! > Your $10k is already paying for the ones who don't have insurance. Medicine is already socialized! No need to change it then...

mgkimsal 8y ago
>Private insurance, for all its bad rep, has very strong incentives to have proper utilization. More so than government: when a patient gets hospitalized, insurance loses money. "when a patient gets hospitalized, insurance loses money...." and the patient gets the treatment they need. you seem to have forgotten that part. "Proper utilization", in a private sense, is the same as "maximize shareholder value". Anything that damages shareholder value is not "proper". Sick people have very strong incentive to want treatment. HEALTHY people have very strong incentive to want treatment for sick people. Private insurance has very strong incentive to take in as much money and pay out as little as possible.
- conanbatt 8y ago
  > and the patient gets the treatment they need. you seem to have forgotten that part. > "Proper utilization", in a private sense, is the same as "maximize shareholder value". Access - Quality - Cost. Somebody has to make a choice. If what you care about is unabated and unrestricted access, get ready to pay more than what you pay today.

mgkimsal 8y ago

>Private insurance, for all its bad rep, has very strong incentives to have proper utilization. More so than government: when a patient gets hospitalized, insurance loses money. "when a patient gets hospitalized, insurance loses money...." and the patient gets the treatment they need. you seem to have forgotten that part. "Proper utilization", in a private sense, is the same as "maximize shareholder value". Anything that damages shareholder value is not "proper". Sick people have very strong incentive to want treatment. HEALTHY people have very strong incentive to want treatment for sick people. Private insurance has very strong incentive to take in as much money and pay out as little as possible.

conanbatt 8y ago
> and the patient gets the treatment they need. you seem to have forgotten that part. > "Proper utilization", in a private sense, is the same as "maximize shareholder value". Access - Quality - Cost. Somebody has to make a choice. If what you care about is unabated and unrestricted access, get ready to pay more than what you pay today.