4 ms·

A lot of us are saying we need to increase the pay of nurses, but we also believe that medical care is too expensive. So, where is all that money going? There a

by jmugan 4y ago

A lot of us are saying we need to increase the pay of nurses, but we also believe that medical care is too expensive. So, where is all that money going? There are a lot of flippant answers but they never seem to lead anywhere actionable.

jrochkind1 4y ago
I am not sure, and I'm not saying this is the WHOLE problem (in fact I am confident it is not), but... in 2017 (first hit I got googling) 7.9% of all healthcare expenditure in the USA ($275 billion) went to insurance overhead, vs 2.8% in Canada. But yeah, in general, this is a problem (healthcare in general, healthcare expenses, nurse job experience) where almost all other countries with similar wealth are doing so much better than us, it shouldn't be that mysterious to solve it, right? It's not like, who knows if it's even possible to do better! Like, we know it is... figuring out what the difference between them and us isn't trivial, but it should be easier than something there isn't a model for. The most obvious difference would seem to be how insurance (and universal coverage thereof) is handled.
- orwin 4y ago
  In France, 18% to 22% of the money given to our public insurance is used for administrative stuff, which i thought was a lot. Then I learned that 31% of what my company pays for my private insurance is used for administrative purpose. So either private companies are way less efficient than public service, or i should immediately buy shares from Swisslife and others. Guess what my first major investment was?
ciphol 4y ago
It goes to treating crises (expensive) rather than preventing them (cheap)
eksx 4y ago
One example is drug waste. Insulin for example is charged per vial to the patient but usually only a minimal fraction is actually used and the remainder is disposed of.
- jeffrallen 4y ago
  And then the patient is charged a disposal fee.

by jmugan 4y ago

jrochkind1 4y ago

I am not sure, and I'm not saying this is the WHOLE problem (in fact I am confident it is not), but... in 2017 (first hit I got googling) 7.9% of all healthcare expenditure in the USA ($275 billion) went to insurance overhead, vs 2.8% in Canada. But yeah, in general, this is a problem (healthcare in general, healthcare expenses, nurse job experience) where almost all other countries with similar wealth are doing so much better than us, it shouldn't be that mysterious to solve it, right? It's not like, who knows if it's even possible to do better! Like, we know it is... figuring out what the difference between them and us isn't trivial, but it should be easier than something there isn't a model for. The most obvious difference would seem to be how insurance (and universal coverage thereof) is handled.

orwin 4y ago
In France, 18% to 22% of the money given to our public insurance is used for administrative stuff, which i thought was a lot. Then I learned that 31% of what my company pays for my private insurance is used for administrative purpose. So either private companies are way less efficient than public service, or i should immediately buy shares from Swisslife and others. Guess what my first major investment was?

ciphol 4y ago

It goes to treating crises (expensive) rather than preventing them (cheap)

eksx 4y ago

One example is drug waste. Insulin for example is charged per vial to the patient but usually only a minimal fraction is actually used and the remainder is disposed of.

jeffrallen 4y ago
And then the patient is charged a disposal fee.