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For competitive markets to work, consumers need to be able to rationally shop around. The medical system is not even close to built in such a way. You cannot sh
by jbeam 7y ago
For competitive markets to work, consumers need to be able to rationally shop around. The medical system is not even close to built in such a way. You cannot shop around when you are riding an ambulance to a hospital, and those with potentially terminal diseases usually prioritize living. The existence of insurance, which no one suggests we should go without, adds another moral hazard that encourages the consumer to be less price elastic.
It would be just as massive an overhaul to turn this sector into a truly competitive market as it would be to nationalize it.
- tynpeddler 7y agoResearch suggests that emergency room costs are 7% or less of total healthcare spending in the US (some studies claim it's as low as 2% of total yearly costs). In other words, there's a lot of room for shopping around.
- distances 7y agoBut in the current system you can't. Nobody will tell you the cost of operation or treatment. It's not even malice: nobody knows what it'll cost. The system efficiently avoids competition.
- tynpeddler 7y agoMy comment was not made in a vacuum. It was intended to address the concern raised by jbeam that emergency situation in healthcare completely preclude the use of market dynamics. My point is that emergencies are only a small part of healthcare, and by themselves are not enough to derail the idea of bringing markets back to healthcare.
- distances 7y agoThanks for the clarification.