3 ms·
Yeah, this is definitely part of the reason for the cost, but overall healthcare is pretty inelastic. (Ads for meds are so odd: I spent a couple of years in Ca
by Mezzie 4y ago
Yeah, this is definitely part of the reason for the cost, but overall healthcare is pretty inelastic.
(Ads for meds are so odd: I spent a couple of years in Canada and they don't do that there and it was bizarre coming back to the US and hearing them.)
Another reason for this is that Americans are so litigious: tests are ordered because otherwise the patient can sue. Which in turn is the case because the only way to hold companies/professionals accountable is to sue them. I'm not sure what the answer is.
- iso1631 4y agoIn the UK we have medical malpractice too (and far to much of it), but we also define what tests are expected. My understanding is the people defining those tests aren't incentivised to overtest (by companies trying to sell the tests) or undertest (through fear of being sued).
- Mezzie 4y agoYeah, I imagine having some sort of central authority (NHS) against which even private practitioners can compare themselves helps here. American healthcare is just chaos. I guess the closest thing here would be Medicaid/Medicare but even those are administered through private companies with variances in what is covered. Also there's probably less resorting to suing in the UK since people whose doctors mess up can get the resulting problems treated. In the US, if a doctor fucks up and you need more treatment, it can bankrupt you and the only way to recoup the costs is to sue.