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IMO the healthcare market should be restructured into 3 sub markets where a payment scheme that make the most sense for the type of care can be applied: - Rout

IMO the healthcare market should be restructured into 3 sub markets where a payment scheme that make the most sense for the type of care can be applied: - Routine/Preventative Care [Self or Employer paid in cash] - Emergency & Acute Care [Self or Employer paid insurance] - Chronic/Disabled/Elder Care [Socialized Medicine] However, that is far too logical and efficient for our current system of crony capitalism.

nerdponx 6y ago
There are a few problems with this setup. 1) Part of the reason why Americans are so sick is that they don't have access to preventative care in the first place. Just getting a check up at the doctor should not be a financial burden. 2) It breaks the basic model of insurance, wherein risk is spread among many parties and the premiums that come in can pay for the losses paid out. 3) Employer sponsored insurance just handcuffs people to their jobs. This is bad for all kinds of reasons.
- macinjosh 6y ago
  Not sure you’ve fully thought this through... Regarding your first point, in a system as I’ve described pricing for preventative care will be driven down by market forces. Especially with market pressures like price comparisons made available. This kind of care is fairly fixed in cost and has predictable demand so the business risks are much lower. Additionally government could provide tax incentives for things like getting an annual exam for example. For point #2 you have this backwards. Insurance is meant to guard against risk. When you have situation like the current one where insurance is used to pay for routine or predictable care that whole idea of spreading the risk around with insurance is moot as the risk of costing the plan money is 100% for everyone. Finally, fully single payer medicine is bad for all kinds of reasons as well. We need balanced solutions not ideologies.
  - ahelwer 6y ago
    Canadian here! Socialized medicine is, in fact, good. I think the US has gone about as far as it can go with crowbarring healthcare into an insurance model. Moving from Canada to the states as an adult I can sincerely tell you that healthcare here is an utterly terrible experience on every level, from check-ups to clinic visits to overnight emergency room stays. At a certain point it becomes more ideological not to have socialized healthcare. And that point was passed long, long ago. Twisting a few dials & pulling some levers on a machine that is fundamentally profiting off of people being sick will just never cut it. Nothing can overcome that underlying incentive.
  - nerdponx 6y ago
    I'd encourage you to take a look at some health economics literature, instead of accusing me of being an ideologue.

nerdponx 6y ago

There are a few problems with this setup. 1) Part of the reason why Americans are so sick is that they don't have access to preventative care in the first place. Just getting a check up at the doctor should not be a financial burden. 2) It breaks the basic model of insurance, wherein risk is spread among many parties and the premiums that come in can pay for the losses paid out. 3) Employer sponsored insurance just handcuffs people to their jobs. This is bad for all kinds of reasons.

macinjosh 6y ago
Not sure you’ve fully thought this through... Regarding your first point, in a system as I’ve described pricing for preventative care will be driven down by market forces. Especially with market pressures like price comparisons made available. This kind of care is fairly fixed in cost and has predictable demand so the business risks are much lower. Additionally government could provide tax incentives for things like getting an annual exam for example. For point #2 you have this backwards. Insurance is meant to guard against risk. When you have situation like the current one where insurance is used to pay for routine or predictable care that whole idea of spreading the risk around with insurance is moot as the risk of costing the plan money is 100% for everyone. Finally, fully single payer medicine is bad for all kinds of reasons as well. We need balanced solutions not ideologies.
- ahelwer 6y ago
  Canadian here! Socialized medicine is, in fact, good. I think the US has gone about as far as it can go with crowbarring healthcare into an insurance model. Moving from Canada to the states as an adult I can sincerely tell you that healthcare here is an utterly terrible experience on every level, from check-ups to clinic visits to overnight emergency room stays. At a certain point it becomes more ideological not to have socialized healthcare. And that point was passed long, long ago. Twisting a few dials & pulling some levers on a machine that is fundamentally profiting off of people being sick will just never cut it. Nothing can overcome that underlying incentive.
- nerdponx 6y ago
  I'd encourage you to take a look at some health economics literature, instead of accusing me of being an ideologue.