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I just dont understand why health insurance and medical cost in US are so expensive.

by ksec 1y ago

tryptophan 1y ago
Because Obama rewrote the Healthcare laws to prioritize insurance companies above all else. Their stocks have been doing great!
- sydbarrett74 1y ago
  ACA is largely based on Heritage Foundation policy papers. Project 2010, if you will.
- gloryjulio 1y ago
  The ACA bill was originally a republican bill that Obama agreed and pushed. And then the republicans flipped around and started blaming Obama on their own bill.
- conception 1y ago
  In what way were insurance companies limited before the ACA that “Obama” removed? Please be specific. I’ve never heard this take before.
  - ethbr1 1y ago
    Indeed. I'd like to hear too, seeing as the admin cost caps for insurers in ACA are a pretty big stick to counterbalance the mandate carrot. I know firsthand that a lot of insurers substantially increased internal efficiency as a result of no longer being able to pass excesses along to consumers in premiums.
Ekaros 1y ago
If you are allowed to skim only 10% on top. Obvious solution to increase amount is to increase underlying cost. This goes for insurance. But also for many other players like hospital owners. When you have oligopoly there is no reason to drive prices down.
estimator7292 1y ago
Because we treat it like a business instead of a human right and public benefit. Because the only true guiding moral truth in America is that capitalism is the only economic system that could possibly work and we should allow capitalists to pursue profit by any means.
maest 1y ago
I saw this debate a few weeks ago between two guys re what's the best way to improve the current healthcare cost.[1] I think both positions were untenable, but one interesting point that one guy made was that, while called "insurance", health insurance is structurally very different. If you buy flood insurance, you have very low expectations you will actually need it. It's a way to pool tail risk and spread it out over a larger population. Healthcare insurance, however, pays for all your medical costs, many of which you can reasonably expect to have to pay. So you're no longer socialising risk. You're not even socialising cost really, sonce plans have many carevouts, exceptions, copays, limits etc. So a more efficient system would be one where you selfpay for regular procedures and have insurance for rare, life altering conditions. [1] - https://www.thesohoforum.org/upcoming-events/2025/7/16/jacob-hacker-vs-david-goldhill https://www.thesohoforum.org/upcoming-events/2025/7/16/jacob...
- nothercastle 1y ago
  What we call insurance is more like a Costco club membership where members get better rates
- b112 1y ago
  That might be more efficient. But to be clear, you are socializing risk though. You're just doing it a different way, by genetics and age. Your monthly payment (and what your employer kicks in) are for all those day to day costs. And of course there's the deductible. But people in their 40s to 50s often don't have young kids. Meanwhile, people in their 80s to 60s have more health risks. So what happens elsewhere is that everyone throws money into the same pot for their entire lives, and your costs are averaged as per above. It's why a single insurer, the government, is perfect for this. And it works for rare conditions that might happen to some during their lives, and not all too. And typically, for thousands of years, we've had more young than old. So while elderly people do have more issues late in life, they've paid into the system the whole time. And, now there are young people to pay just as they did. The only downside is when you end up with an age skewed population, such as is happening with the entire planet. It's affecting all health care systems, private or public. The US has this problem too, as medicare is being hit by spiraling costs. One thing I find really weird, is the need for-profit in the US system. Other systems have that too, sure, but not like the US. An example, the fire department isn't for profit. It'd be insane if so! Why would it be?! Yet, there is private sector work in the fire department, such as all the equipment bought from the private sector, chemical analysis done on debris post-suspicious-fire, and even training in some cases. Most health care systems around the world are like that. The insurance is public, not for profit. The hospitals too. Many parts of the system as well. But then some aspects are private.
rglover 1y ago
Because there is no one to stop you. It's the perfect scam.

I just dont understand why health insurance and medical cost in US are so expensive.

by ksec 1y ago

I just dont understand why health insurance and medical cost in US are so expensive.

Because Obama rewrote the Healthcare laws to prioritize insurance companies above all else. Their stocks have been doing great!

sydbarrett74 1y ago
ACA is largely based on Heritage Foundation policy papers. Project 2010, if you will.
gloryjulio 1y ago
The ACA bill was originally a republican bill that Obama agreed and pushed. And then the republicans flipped around and started blaming Obama on their own bill.
conception 1y ago
In what way were insurance companies limited before the ACA that “Obama” removed? Please be specific. I’ve never heard this take before.
- ethbr1 1y ago
  Indeed. I'd like to hear too, seeing as the admin cost caps for insurers in ACA are a pretty big stick to counterbalance the mandate carrot. I know firsthand that a lot of insurers substantially increased internal efficiency as a result of no longer being able to pass excesses along to consumers in premiums.

Ekaros 1y ago

If you are allowed to skim only 10% on top. Obvious solution to increase amount is to increase underlying cost. This goes for insurance. But also for many other players like hospital owners. When you have oligopoly there is no reason to drive prices down.

estimator7292 1y ago

Because we treat it like a business instead of a human right and public benefit. Because the only true guiding moral truth in America is that capitalism is the only economic system that could possibly work and we should allow capitalists to pursue profit by any means.

maest 1y ago

I saw this debate a few weeks ago between two guys re what's the best way to improve the current healthcare cost.[1] I think both positions were untenable, but one interesting point that one guy made was that, while called "insurance", health insurance is structurally very different. If you buy flood insurance, you have very low expectations you will actually need it. It's a way to pool tail risk and spread it out over a larger population. Healthcare insurance, however, pays for all your medical costs, many of which you can reasonably expect to have to pay. So you're no longer socialising risk. You're not even socialising cost really, sonce plans have many carevouts, exceptions, copays, limits etc. So a more efficient system would be one where you selfpay for regular procedures and have insurance for rare, life altering conditions. [1] - https://www.thesohoforum.org/upcoming-events/2025/7/16/jacob-hacker-vs-david-goldhill https://www.thesohoforum.org/upcoming-events/2025/7/16/jacob...

nothercastle 1y ago
What we call insurance is more like a Costco club membership where members get better rates
b112 1y ago
That might be more efficient. But to be clear, you are socializing risk though. You're just doing it a different way, by genetics and age. Your monthly payment (and what your employer kicks in) are for all those day to day costs. And of course there's the deductible. But people in their 40s to 50s often don't have young kids. Meanwhile, people in their 80s to 60s have more health risks. So what happens elsewhere is that everyone throws money into the same pot for their entire lives, and your costs are averaged as per above. It's why a single insurer, the government, is perfect for this. And it works for rare conditions that might happen to some during their lives, and not all too. And typically, for thousands of years, we've had more young than old. So while elderly people do have more issues late in life, they've paid into the system the whole time. And, now there are young people to pay just as they did. The only downside is when you end up with an age skewed population, such as is happening with the entire planet. It's affecting all health care systems, private or public. The US has this problem too, as medicare is being hit by spiraling costs. One thing I find really weird, is the need for-profit in the US system. Other systems have that too, sure, but not like the US. An example, the fire department isn't for profit. It'd be insane if so! Why would it be?! Yet, there is private sector work in the fire department, such as all the equipment bought from the private sector, chemical analysis done on debris post-suspicious-fire, and even training in some cases. Most health care systems around the world are like that. The insurance is public, not for profit. The hospitals too. Many parts of the system as well. But then some aspects are private.

rglover 1y ago

Because there is no one to stop you. It's the perfect scam.