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This seems more like a symptom of the wildly broken American health-care system than anything else. In countries with a more functioning healthcare system, dis

This seems more like a symptom of the wildly broken American health-care system than anything else. In countries with a more functioning healthcare system, disruption of the status quo (especially by VC-funded private companies seeking a large payday) is neither necessary or desirable, slow iterative improvements are the name of the game. Furthermore, the US spends far more per capita than every other country on healthcare, and receives worse healthcare outcomes as a result [1], [2]. If you think that the solution is throwing more VC money at the problem, well, I have a bridge to sell you. Sadly for Americans, the obvious solution that most (~70%) Americans apparently want (Medicare for all) seems very unlikely to happen anytime soon. [1] https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/life-expectancy-vs-health-expenditure https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/life-expectancy-vs-health... [2] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/08/learning/whats-going-on-in-this-graph-global-life-expectancy-health-expenditures.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/08/learning/whats-going-on-i...

UglyToad 5y ago
To add to this, the absurdity of the 'healthcare' system in the US is made even more apparent as a non-US citizen buying health insurance for (long-term) international travel. Firstly (loosely regulated) insurance is an absolutely stupid way to provide healthcare. Pre-existing conditions? Maybe you just don't deserve to live, either way we're witholding life-saving care from you because our tables say so. Need to claim near the start of your cover? You must be lying about pre-existing conditions. Need to fix something that wasn't acute enough to seek care about previously? Nope, no cover for you. And on and on and on. Anyone who thinks an insurance market is a solution for healthcare is just an idiot, there's no way around that. (I realise some universal systems run on a private insurance basis but they're a lot more regulated) But then, even in that entirely messed up system, designed to cut you off from urgently needed medical care, all policies are divided into 'regions'. There's not much cost difference between regions until you get to any region "including the US". It's even named, the only country in the world they do that for. That's how badly those guys have messed up their healthcare system. And if you select that? It's at least double the cost, for no extra cover in terms of policy limits. That for me clarified that, no, I wasn't missing anything. Anyone who supports the current US system is so far removed from the commonly inhabited reality that none of their opinions are worth listening to.
- knubie 5y ago
  The American health insurance industry is anything but "loosely regulated."
mindslight 5y ago
Yep. This is like writing an article about the increasing prevalence of gas generators and storage batteries, and saying that "electricity generation is turning into a consumer product". Really the centralized providers are failing with no hope in sight, so people are opting for distributed means to take care of their needs. If you tell someone they can pay a well-defined price for a device that might help them, or they can spend hours on the phone to make an appointment three months out that will result in indeterminate bills and likely further cycles through the bureaucracy, obviously they'll prefer the straightforward option!

UglyToad 5y ago

To add to this, the absurdity of the 'healthcare' system in the US is made even more apparent as a non-US citizen buying health insurance for (long-term) international travel. Firstly (loosely regulated) insurance is an absolutely stupid way to provide healthcare. Pre-existing conditions? Maybe you just don't deserve to live, either way we're witholding life-saving care from you because our tables say so. Need to claim near the start of your cover? You must be lying about pre-existing conditions. Need to fix something that wasn't acute enough to seek care about previously? Nope, no cover for you. And on and on and on. Anyone who thinks an insurance market is a solution for healthcare is just an idiot, there's no way around that. (I realise some universal systems run on a private insurance basis but they're a lot more regulated) But then, even in that entirely messed up system, designed to cut you off from urgently needed medical care, all policies are divided into 'regions'. There's not much cost difference between regions until you get to any region "including the US". It's even named, the only country in the world they do that for. That's how badly those guys have messed up their healthcare system. And if you select that? It's at least double the cost, for no extra cover in terms of policy limits. That for me clarified that, no, I wasn't missing anything. Anyone who supports the current US system is so far removed from the commonly inhabited reality that none of their opinions are worth listening to.

knubie 5y ago
The American health insurance industry is anything but "loosely regulated."

mindslight 5y ago

Yep. This is like writing an article about the increasing prevalence of gas generators and storage batteries, and saying that "electricity generation is turning into a consumer product". Really the centralized providers are failing with no hope in sight, so people are opting for distributed means to take care of their needs. If you tell someone they can pay a well-defined price for a device that might help them, or they can spend hours on the phone to make an appointment three months out that will result in indeterminate bills and likely further cycles through the bureaucracy, obviously they'll prefer the straightforward option!