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> What incentives do for-profit pharmaceuticals have to keep people healthy? In a competitive market when people aren't happy with a product or service they ta

by awb 7y ago

> What incentives do for-profit pharmaceuticals have to keep people healthy? In a competitive market when people aren't happy with a product or service they take their business elsewhere. Over time companies with bad intentions get weeded out or never get off the ground.

notfromhere 7y ago
You really can’t do that with pharmaceuticals that aren’t out of patent. Lots of conditions only have a single drug, and for some classes of pharmaceuticals big pharma has exited entirely (antibiotics)
redis_mlc 7y ago
> I'm no universal healthcare idealist ... I'm from Canada, so actually I am. > In a competitive market ... Doesn't apply to healthcare. Try shopping around for a trauma hospital after a car accident.
- jariel 7y ago
  "Doesn't apply to healthcare." Yes, it absolutely does. The vast majority of 'healthcare' is operationally mundane, and not hyper-specialized such as those who are in car accidents might require. Most public systems are quite inefficient, and without any possible market pressures (Canada healthcare act makes it technically illegal to sell healthcare services that are provided by the gov.) then those inefficiencies sink in. Because there's a weird inelastic demand for certain services, pure market-oriented solutions won't work for 'car crashes' but they definitely could for most other things. Walmart taking on healthcare is a very meaningful event, they could feasibly operationalize the more mundane issues to the point wherein it's the cheapest in the world for such services. This is hugely positive news.
proc0 7y ago
The problem is you shouldn't be making that decision when you are already sick and you discover your insurance won't cover. Additionally the current healthcare market is not what I would call competitive. Only a handful of insurance companies have some kind of monopoly, not to mention how it's tied to having a job. All of this assumes that getting sick is a choice like driving a car.

by awb 7y ago

notfromhere 7y ago

You really can’t do that with pharmaceuticals that aren’t out of patent. Lots of conditions only have a single drug, and for some classes of pharmaceuticals big pharma has exited entirely (antibiotics)

redis_mlc 7y ago

> I'm no universal healthcare idealist ... I'm from Canada, so actually I am. > In a competitive market ... Doesn't apply to healthcare. Try shopping around for a trauma hospital after a car accident.

jariel 7y ago
"Doesn't apply to healthcare." Yes, it absolutely does. The vast majority of 'healthcare' is operationally mundane, and not hyper-specialized such as those who are in car accidents might require. Most public systems are quite inefficient, and without any possible market pressures (Canada healthcare act makes it technically illegal to sell healthcare services that are provided by the gov.) then those inefficiencies sink in. Because there's a weird inelastic demand for certain services, pure market-oriented solutions won't work for 'car crashes' but they definitely could for most other things. Walmart taking on healthcare is a very meaningful event, they could feasibly operationalize the more mundane issues to the point wherein it's the cheapest in the world for such services. This is hugely positive news.

proc0 7y ago

The problem is you shouldn't be making that decision when you are already sick and you discover your insurance won't cover. Additionally the current healthcare market is not what I would call competitive. Only a handful of insurance companies have some kind of monopoly, not to mention how it's tied to having a job. All of this assumes that getting sick is a choice like driving a car.