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> for prices to rise to a point where supply and demand are balanced Is there a limit to the amount of money you would pay to save your life? Is there a predat

> for prices to rise to a point where supply and demand are balanced Is there a limit to the amount of money you would pay to save your life? Is there a predatry loan you wouldn't take to pay for life-saving surgery for your child? Has this ever been demonstrated to work in healthcare in the real world, outside free-market fantasy land?

WalterBright 5y ago
Yes, in the US before the government took over health care. BTW, no government is going to spend unlimited sums to save your life.
- FollowingTheDao 5y ago
  > Yes, in the US before the government took over health care. When did that happen? If you are thinking Obama care, uhm, no. > BTW, no government is going to spend unlimited sums to save your life. You are missing the point. Supply and demand curves break when it comes to life and death matters. That is why prices should not be dictated by a free market. Well, I guess that is fine if you are a sociopath.
  - WalterBright 5y ago
    > When did that happen? Not all at once, but decision by decision. One big change was when the AMA was granted a monopoly over the education of doctors. Then there was when companies got around wage controls in WW2 by tying health insurance to employment. Then in the 1960s there was enormous expansion of the FDA, and then Medicare and Medicaid. Then there were laws that required emergency rooms to treat people for free. All these measures sound great, but they completely mess with the structure of how markets work. And so we have the very expensive, and often dysfunctional, system today. > That is why prices should not be dictated by a free market. The free market doesn't dictate prices. Governments dictate prices, which always leads to shortages. > I guess that is fine if you are a sociopath. If you have a case, you should be able to make it without insults.
    - ClumsyPilot 5y ago
      Present your case - show that it worked well before government.
      - WalterBright 5y ago
        The US had the longest life expectancy in the world.
- throwaway675309 5y ago
  Might wanna go over your history again. https://youtube.com/watch?v=3qpLVTbVHnU&t=34s https://youtube.com/watch?v=3qpLVTbVHnU&t=34s The people who tend to be the most ardent defenders of private medical care are usually the same people who have had the fewest reasons to actually depend on it. They're also the same people that declare the United States the greatest country in the world despite having never lived anywhere else but the lower 48.
tyrfing 5y ago
The limit is approximately what you would be capable of paying. Putting value on life is a common practice, particularly in single-payer healthcare, mostly relevant to certain drugs. There are, of course, problems with a system like this. "I would pay literally everything to not die, but can't find treatment" is just not one (assuming certain values of everything), because people will take your money. Problems are things like rich people getting better treatment (happens just about no matter what, but we'd rather pretend otherwise), and evaluating treatment performance as a customer/patient (a reason for most supply restrictions.)

WalterBright 5y ago

Yes, in the US before the government took over health care. BTW, no government is going to spend unlimited sums to save your life.

FollowingTheDao 5y ago
> Yes, in the US before the government took over health care. When did that happen? If you are thinking Obama care, uhm, no. > BTW, no government is going to spend unlimited sums to save your life. You are missing the point. Supply and demand curves break when it comes to life and death matters. That is why prices should not be dictated by a free market. Well, I guess that is fine if you are a sociopath.
- WalterBright 5y ago
  > When did that happen? Not all at once, but decision by decision. One big change was when the AMA was granted a monopoly over the education of doctors. Then there was when companies got around wage controls in WW2 by tying health insurance to employment. Then in the 1960s there was enormous expansion of the FDA, and then Medicare and Medicaid. Then there were laws that required emergency rooms to treat people for free. All these measures sound great, but they completely mess with the structure of how markets work. And so we have the very expensive, and often dysfunctional, system today. > That is why prices should not be dictated by a free market. The free market doesn't dictate prices. Governments dictate prices, which always leads to shortages. > I guess that is fine if you are a sociopath. If you have a case, you should be able to make it without insults.
  - ClumsyPilot 5y ago
    Present your case - show that it worked well before government.
    - WalterBright 5y ago
      The US had the longest life expectancy in the world.
throwaway675309 5y ago
Might wanna go over your history again. https://youtube.com/watch?v=3qpLVTbVHnU&t=34s https://youtube.com/watch?v=3qpLVTbVHnU&t=34s The people who tend to be the most ardent defenders of private medical care are usually the same people who have had the fewest reasons to actually depend on it. They're also the same people that declare the United States the greatest country in the world despite having never lived anywhere else but the lower 48.

tyrfing 5y ago

The limit is approximately what you would be capable of paying. Putting value on life is a common practice, particularly in single-payer healthcare, mostly relevant to certain drugs. There are, of course, problems with a system like this. "I would pay literally everything to not die, but can't find treatment" is just not one (assuming certain values of everything), because people will take your money. Problems are things like rich people getting better treatment (happens just about no matter what, but we'd rather pretend otherwise), and evaluating treatment performance as a customer/patient (a reason for most supply restrictions.)