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I support universal healthcare, but fundamentally speaking there is no reason there couldn't be a free market healthcare solution that works for a large percent

I support universal healthcare, but fundamentally speaking there is no reason there couldn't be a free market healthcare solution that works for a large percentage of people (IE those that can afford a reasonable healthcare insurance premium). The remaining could be covered by a government welfare program. However, rewrite laws as you want, a good free market solution would depend on the following: - Healthcare providers are incentivized to quickly and efficiently care for patients as necessary. - Every single person should be incentivized to use healthcare services regularly and as needed, without concerns such as cost. - Insurance providers should be incentivized to make things as easy, painless, and low cost as possible for both healthcare providers and individuals. The main purpose of the insurance provider is to pool risk and prevent fraud, not to squeeze dollars out of sick folk. - Regulatory bodies like congress should be concerned with regulations that can (a) ensure the above incentives exist, and (b) lower the fundamental costs associated with healthcare (e.g. prevent drug companies from price gouging and such) Current every single incentive I've listed above is misaligned in the market today. Doctors' time is wasted with billing and insurance and risk-prevention to avoid getting sued, many many people avoid using healthcare services out of fear of unknown costs and bankruptcy (which turns untreated small issues into big ones), insurance companies optimize around fleecing customers and making billing hell for doctors, and regulatory bodies are commonly more concerned with the politics & optics of Obamacare this, affordable healthcare that. On top of that, our current free market solution somehow revolves around the employer giving some kind of subsidy and bargaining for better benefits, which makes no sense whatsoever because everybody needs healthcare, not just employees of successful corporations. Anyways, this rambled on a bit, but my point is that any solution that doesn't have a way to align these incentives will fail to make a big dent on healthcare costs in this country. Period. This includes M4A or other universal healthcare plans.

bryanlarsen 7y ago
Theoretically the US could put together a good health care system; in practice they are way to many cooks in the kitchen to not screw it up. The US should just lift and copy a working system from elsewhere.
noetic_techy 7y ago
The problem is your incentives breed more bureaucracy and its exactly that bureaucracy that leads to higher costs and a system where nobody knows the price of a procedure. Laws get passed with good intentions, but with bad overall outcomes on the system as you pile on more and more mandates. You have to back off from these requirements and let the market work. Imagine if anyone could get a MRI or a CAT scan or a blood draw anytime just by walking into a small private clinic in a strip mall. No requirements to go through a primary or a specialist, a registered nurse can and should be able to do this with minimal licensing. No insurance company forced to be involved. No over regulation mandating that "thou must do the following". Imagine next if health insurance was like car insurance, with companies blaring ads about how much you could save if you switched to them. No mandates that it must be employer provided. No hospitals being forced by law to fit the bill for the uninsured, thus driving up the cost for the insured. My point is you need to back off the list of mandated incentives and let the market do its thing. Then, once it appears that things are stable and there is healthy price competition, you can maybe pass a few laws to take care of the edge cases and bad actors.

bryanlarsen 7y ago

Theoretically the US could put together a good health care system; in practice they are way to many cooks in the kitchen to not screw it up. The US should just lift and copy a working system from elsewhere.

noetic_techy 7y ago

The problem is your incentives breed more bureaucracy and its exactly that bureaucracy that leads to higher costs and a system where nobody knows the price of a procedure. Laws get passed with good intentions, but with bad overall outcomes on the system as you pile on more and more mandates. You have to back off from these requirements and let the market work. Imagine if anyone could get a MRI or a CAT scan or a blood draw anytime just by walking into a small private clinic in a strip mall. No requirements to go through a primary or a specialist, a registered nurse can and should be able to do this with minimal licensing. No insurance company forced to be involved. No over regulation mandating that "thou must do the following". Imagine next if health insurance was like car insurance, with companies blaring ads about how much you could save if you switched to them. No mandates that it must be employer provided. No hospitals being forced by law to fit the bill for the uninsured, thus driving up the cost for the insured. My point is you need to back off the list of mandated incentives and let the market do its thing. Then, once it appears that things are stable and there is healthy price competition, you can maybe pass a few laws to take care of the edge cases and bad actors.