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Oh, it definitely happens in government-run healthcare systems. Remember how proponents of single-payer government healthcare in the US used to point to the amo
by makomk 7y ago
Oh, it definitely happens in government-run healthcare systems. Remember how proponents of single-payer government healthcare in the US used to point to the amount of money that the UK spends on the NHS and argue that the US would save money by switching? One of the ways the NHS keeps costs down is by not maintaining excess capacity, meaning that even a moderately bad flu season is a major struggle.
- MereInterest 7y agoDoesn't that apply to for-profit hospitals as well? In both cases, there is an incentive to avoid paying for excess capacity. The cost advantage of a single-payer system is in larger negotiation. A single person has no leverage at all in negotiating with a hospital. An insurance network has some leverage when negotiating with hospitals, but results in user-complexity trying to navigate the in-network and out-of-network agreements. A single-payer has a large amount of leverage when negotiating with hospitals, and can avoid price gouging from manufacturers.