4 ms·

Emergency care accounts for just 2% of healthcare spending. https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2013/oct/28/nick-gillespie/does-emergency-care-account-just-2

• lolpython 5y ago
  That is not a useful statistic here. We are talking about an individual’s financial obligations in a medical emergency. A $10,000 bill is not 2% of an individual’s yearly spending.
  • loeg 5y ago
    You’re missing the bigger picture. It’s worthwhile improving transparency around the vast majority of healthcare needs/spending. ER costs are also a problem, but it’s an orthogonal issue. Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
    • lolpython 5y ago
      No, I don't oppose hospital price transparency. My comment was basically a procedural one. Saying that ER visits are 2% of nationwide costs does not meaningfully address the toplevel poster's concerns. > ER costs are also a problem, but it’s an orthogonal issue. It's natural to want to discuss this orthogonal issue, and the solutions to the two issues are not mutually exclusive.
• drunner 5y ago
  And yet: Using a conservative definition, 62.1% of all bankruptcies in 2007 were medical; 92% of these medical debtors had medical debts over $5000, or 10% of pretax family income. https://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343%2809%2900404-5/pdf https://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343%2809%2900404-5/pdf