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Prisons and psychiatric care provide compelling examples of the boundaries of for-profit models and why they might not always be the best solutions in an area.

Prisons and psychiatric care provide compelling examples of the boundaries of for-profit models and why they might not always be the best solutions in an area. You can always argue — reasonably I think — that these cases represent anomalous bad apples but I think as long as that incentive structure is there it will pull for this kind of thing at some level, even it's not quite as extreme as this example. I think that profit incentives and lack of competition tend to distort healthcare across all sorts of specialties in much more subtle ways than what was going on at this hospital chain. When threats to personal autonomy start to become the consequence it seems to clarify some of the problems involved, but the same processes are at work in all sorts of areas.

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LadyCailin 2y ago
Well, yeah. Nobody actually wants a true free market system, no matter how much libertarians and anarchocapitalists may scream that that’s exactly what they want. If they got their way, the whole planet would become a dystopian nightmare, with no safety for anyone but the top handful richest people, and every single tragedy of the commons possible occurring, polluting the earth to the point of unusability. The only reason they claim to want it, is because of either greed, complete lack of empathy, or willful ignorance. The only possible way to have a society is to have regulations.
- left-struck 2y ago
  Can confirm, as a libertarian I don’t want a free market, it’s more like I think the rights of people should be above the rights of companies, corporations and so on. Governments exist to protect the rights of the people and in this age, in developed countries, there is no greater infringement on those rights than by large businesses.
- briandear 2y ago
  Free market healthcare means it gets cheaper. Go pay cash at a doctor or a surgeon — it’s dramatically less expensive. The idea of comprehensive health insurance has ruined healthcare. Insurance should be to protect against financial risk from an unforeseen loss — a car crash should be insured, changing the oil should not. If car insurance covered tires and oil changes, car insurance would cost dramatically more.
  - 1986 2y ago
    That's great if all you ever need to do is see a doctor, full stop. Getting, for example, an MRI is around $2k out of pocket. Just for one imaging! Most Americans can't come up with $500 for an unexpected expense. Comprehensive health insurance protects people from instantly going broke from everything in health care that isn't just seeing a primary care doctor. edit: Not defending insurers or our system at all, btw. Quite clear to me as ex-healthtech that a single payer system would solve many of our problems.

deleted 2y ago

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LadyCailin 2y ago

Well, yeah. Nobody actually wants a true free market system, no matter how much libertarians and anarchocapitalists may scream that that’s exactly what they want. If they got their way, the whole planet would become a dystopian nightmare, with no safety for anyone but the top handful richest people, and every single tragedy of the commons possible occurring, polluting the earth to the point of unusability. The only reason they claim to want it, is because of either greed, complete lack of empathy, or willful ignorance. The only possible way to have a society is to have regulations.

left-struck 2y ago
Can confirm, as a libertarian I don’t want a free market, it’s more like I think the rights of people should be above the rights of companies, corporations and so on. Governments exist to protect the rights of the people and in this age, in developed countries, there is no greater infringement on those rights than by large businesses.
briandear 2y ago
Free market healthcare means it gets cheaper. Go pay cash at a doctor or a surgeon — it’s dramatically less expensive. The idea of comprehensive health insurance has ruined healthcare. Insurance should be to protect against financial risk from an unforeseen loss — a car crash should be insured, changing the oil should not. If car insurance covered tires and oil changes, car insurance would cost dramatically more.
- 1986 2y ago
  That's great if all you ever need to do is see a doctor, full stop. Getting, for example, an MRI is around $2k out of pocket. Just for one imaging! Most Americans can't come up with $500 for an unexpected expense. Comprehensive health insurance protects people from instantly going broke from everything in health care that isn't just seeing a primary care doctor. edit: Not defending insurers or our system at all, btw. Quite clear to me as ex-healthtech that a single payer system would solve many of our problems.