5 ms·
The #1 reason healthcare costs more is because of over-treatment. When providers are paid by the procedure, suddenly everyone needs a procedure (or ten). Comb
by Nrsolis 13y ago
The #1 reason healthcare costs more is because of over-treatment. When providers are paid by the procedure, suddenly everyone needs a procedure (or ten). Combine that with third-party responsibility (insurance pays doctor, employer pays for insurance), opaque pricing structure (doctors are the only ones that can tell you if a procedure is necessary or not), and you have a "market" that is "broken".
Put simply, everyone wants "the best care" when they never have to actually pay for it. And as long as providers are incentivized to provide "the best care", they will do it, as lost as "best" equals "expensive".
- mjn 13y agoOver-treatment doesn't explain why the same treatments cost more, though. The base charge for simply occupying a hospital bed for one day is absurdly high in the U.S. compared to just about any other country (Canada comes close, if you're a non-Canadian and therefore actually liable for it).
- Nrsolis 13y agoActually, it does explain it. Lots of people are admitted that don't need to be and nobody ever questions it. And since we have such a high proportion of non-insured here, those admissions raise the cost for everyone else who DOES have insurance.
- jfb 13y ago"Fee for service" is one of the big drivers of cost inflation. Taking on the AMA requires a bigger person than anyone in Washington today.