4 ms·

Healthcare is an inelastic market. If the new iPhone is too expensive, keep an old one, of buy a used one. If your insulin dose is too expensive, you die. Norma

Healthcare is an inelastic market. If the new iPhone is too expensive, keep an old one, of buy a used one. If your insulin dose is too expensive, you die. Normal market rules of supply and demand do not entirely apply to Health care markets.

nickff 6y ago
There are lots of inelastic markets, and I'd agree they do often suffer from short-term price volatility, but the US healthcare market suffers from longer-term price 'anomalies', which I believe are a product of its unique regulatory landscape.
- Xylakant 6y ago
  Other markets with inelastic demand and/or supply also suffer from long-term price anomalies: take housing/rental in SF. There’s certainly some more contributing factors that make an inelastic market turn into a problem, but it’s fairly obvious that it’s not governed by the regular “simple” market explanation of supply and demand converging to a price point if the demand is essentially fixed.
  - nickff 6y ago
    Housing and real estate have a regulatory environment which may be as Byzantine as that in healthcare! Real estate is a little 'better' because you have competing regulatory regimes which serve to (somewhat) moderate the extremes, but it's still quite bad. If you're looking for a contrasting inelastic market (one with a simpler regulatory landscape), I'd look for other industries with high capital costs, such as semiconductor manufacturing.
RHSeeger 6y ago
> If your insulin dose is too expensive, you die. While that is true, you are not including the option of switching to a cheaper insulin. The older insulins (R/N/L) were, the last time I checked, something like $25 per bottle, over the counter.
- TeaDrunk 6y ago
  Cheaper insulin is worse insulin, harder to manage, and ultimately will shorten your lifespan. If you've never used it before/are underresourced about its useage it can 100% still mean a death sentence. Still inelastic imo.
  - RHSeeger 6y ago
    I was replying to the statement that "if your insulin is too expensive, you die". Cheaper insulin is not harder to manage than dying.
    - TeaDrunk 6y ago
      Cheaper insulin, being harder to manage, can and does kill you.
renewiltord 6y ago
Haha, no. If your insulin dose is too expensive, you die. If my insulin dose is too expensive in America, I ship it from generics factories in India¹. The problem for you is that you can't do what I do. And maybe the problem for you is also that I can't sell you what I get this way. So in America you have 'shortages'. I do not. And if you wanted, you could also choose not to have 'shortages'. I remember the same thing happening when Chloroquine was 'in short supply'. I could always get some. You never could. This is by choice. You live by rules that the universe does not require of you. These are probably for other reasons like perhaps you believe in living by the categorical imperative. But there are predators in this forest who do not believe in that. ¹ Even insulin can come here stably and safe. But drugs for other conditions are easier. And what I'm saying here is not strictly true if you're familiar with the details: it's not actually a generic, etc. etc. The important thing is that it's cheap and available.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- jakelazaroff 6y ago
  It sounds like you’re saying “this isn’t a problem if you simply break the law”, which obviously isn’t a real solution to the problem.
  - mrkstu 6y ago
    It makes obvious that the problem is the law.
    - renewiltord 6y ago
      Exactly. Thank you.
anonuser123456 6y ago
Demand is relatively inelastic in healthcare. Supply is not. The fact that I need a product does not constrain suppliers from supplying it. So normal supply elasticity of supply rules apply.

nickff 6y ago

There are lots of inelastic markets, and I'd agree they do often suffer from short-term price volatility, but the US healthcare market suffers from longer-term price 'anomalies', which I believe are a product of its unique regulatory landscape.

Xylakant 6y ago
Other markets with inelastic demand and/or supply also suffer from long-term price anomalies: take housing/rental in SF. There’s certainly some more contributing factors that make an inelastic market turn into a problem, but it’s fairly obvious that it’s not governed by the regular “simple” market explanation of supply and demand converging to a price point if the demand is essentially fixed.
- nickff 6y ago
  Housing and real estate have a regulatory environment which may be as Byzantine as that in healthcare! Real estate is a little 'better' because you have competing regulatory regimes which serve to (somewhat) moderate the extremes, but it's still quite bad. If you're looking for a contrasting inelastic market (one with a simpler regulatory landscape), I'd look for other industries with high capital costs, such as semiconductor manufacturing.

RHSeeger 6y ago

> If your insulin dose is too expensive, you die. While that is true, you are not including the option of switching to a cheaper insulin. The older insulins (R/N/L) were, the last time I checked, something like $25 per bottle, over the counter.

TeaDrunk 6y ago
Cheaper insulin is worse insulin, harder to manage, and ultimately will shorten your lifespan. If you've never used it before/are underresourced about its useage it can 100% still mean a death sentence. Still inelastic imo.
- RHSeeger 6y ago
  I was replying to the statement that "if your insulin is too expensive, you die". Cheaper insulin is not harder to manage than dying.
  - TeaDrunk 6y ago
    Cheaper insulin, being harder to manage, can and does kill you.

renewiltord 6y ago

Haha, no. If your insulin dose is too expensive, you die. If my insulin dose is too expensive in America, I ship it from generics factories in India¹. The problem for you is that you can't do what I do. And maybe the problem for you is also that I can't sell you what I get this way. So in America you have 'shortages'. I do not. And if you wanted, you could also choose not to have 'shortages'. I remember the same thing happening when Chloroquine was 'in short supply'. I could always get some. You never could. This is by choice. You live by rules that the universe does not require of you. These are probably for other reasons like perhaps you believe in living by the categorical imperative. But there are predators in this forest who do not believe in that. ¹ Even insulin can come here stably and safe. But drugs for other conditions are easier. And what I'm saying here is not strictly true if you're familiar with the details: it's not actually a generic, etc. etc. The important thing is that it's cheap and available.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
jakelazaroff 6y ago
It sounds like you’re saying “this isn’t a problem if you simply break the law”, which obviously isn’t a real solution to the problem.
- mrkstu 6y ago
  It makes obvious that the problem is the law.
  - renewiltord 6y ago
    Exactly. Thank you.

anonuser123456 6y ago

Demand is relatively inelastic in healthcare. Supply is not. The fact that I need a product does not constrain suppliers from supplying it. So normal supply elasticity of supply rules apply.