3 ms·

Most of it is likely going to lawyers and health and malpractice insurance companies.

by dzink 4y ago

stjohnswarts 4y ago
No it's not. Do some research malpractice is a tiny percentage of costs overall. That's a red herring thrown out there by doctors and insurance companies.
- dzink 4y ago
  Yes it is. A single large judgement anywhere in the country and the malpractice insurance for all doctors everywhere in the US is bumped up just for premiums. Some disciplines like OB are forced to pay a quarter of a million in malpractice insurance every year just to practice. For others, it went up from 30 to 50K per year just this year alone. When that happens every practitioner starts requiring expensive tests that have a tiny % of catching something, but may catch that stroke that triggers the $100 million lawsuit. 60% of doctors in the US are sued every single year, with each case worth 100k for the doctor to defend, and almost all are without merit. If you want to cut down healthcare costs, insurance and tort reform would be the #1 place to do it. Create a pool of money to cover bad cases and push out bad doctors, but the current system is untenable and benefits nobody in healthcare.
  - willcipriano 4y ago
    > Some disciplines like OB are forced to pay a quarter of a million in malpractice insurance every year just to practice That's one and a half premature babies[0], or ten c-section babies. That number could be low or high depending on the average number of babies that OB is working with. [0] "a premature baby spends an average of 25.4 days in a speciality care nursery at an average cost of $144,692" - https://www.oviahealth.com/blog/the-real-cost-of-preterm-birth-how-to-save-lives-and-save-millions https://www.oviahealth.com/blog/the-real-cost-of-preterm-bir... [1] "A cesarean section (C-section) is much more expensive, costing an average of $22,646 including standard predelivery and postdelivery expenses." - https://www.valuepenguin.com/cost-childbirth-health-insurance https://www.valuepenguin.com/cost-childbirth-health-insuranc...
    - dzink 4y ago
      1/10 or less of that money is going to the OB. The facility collects a far bigger chunk. If you break down the hours worked by the amount doctors get actually paid, they are a tiny tiny share of health expenses and often make very low $ per hour worked. The biggest expenses go towards insurance, defensive tests, hospital management, and expensive specialized materials.

Most of it is likely going to lawyers and health and malpractice insurance companies.

by dzink 4y ago

Most of it is likely going to lawyers and health and malpractice insurance companies.

No it's not. Do some research malpractice is a tiny percentage of costs overall. That's a red herring thrown out there by doctors and insurance companies.

dzink 4y ago
Yes it is. A single large judgement anywhere in the country and the malpractice insurance for all doctors everywhere in the US is bumped up just for premiums. Some disciplines like OB are forced to pay a quarter of a million in malpractice insurance every year just to practice. For others, it went up from 30 to 50K per year just this year alone. When that happens every practitioner starts requiring expensive tests that have a tiny % of catching something, but may catch that stroke that triggers the $100 million lawsuit. 60% of doctors in the US are sued every single year, with each case worth 100k for the doctor to defend, and almost all are without merit. If you want to cut down healthcare costs, insurance and tort reform would be the #1 place to do it. Create a pool of money to cover bad cases and push out bad doctors, but the current system is untenable and benefits nobody in healthcare.
- willcipriano 4y ago
  > Some disciplines like OB are forced to pay a quarter of a million in malpractice insurance every year just to practice That's one and a half premature babies[0], or ten c-section babies. That number could be low or high depending on the average number of babies that OB is working with. [0] "a premature baby spends an average of 25.4 days in a speciality care nursery at an average cost of $144,692" - https://www.oviahealth.com/blog/the-real-cost-of-preterm-birth-how-to-save-lives-and-save-millions https://www.oviahealth.com/blog/the-real-cost-of-preterm-bir... [1] "A cesarean section (C-section) is much more expensive, costing an average of $22,646 including standard predelivery and postdelivery expenses." - https://www.valuepenguin.com/cost-childbirth-health-insurance https://www.valuepenguin.com/cost-childbirth-health-insuranc...
  - dzink 4y ago
    1/10 or less of that money is going to the OB. The facility collects a far bigger chunk. If you break down the hours worked by the amount doctors get actually paid, they are a tiny tiny share of health expenses and often make very low $ per hour worked. The biggest expenses go towards insurance, defensive tests, hospital management, and expensive specialized materials.