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I know there are issues which are specific to the States, but I would say this applies almost everywhere. Almost everywhere doctors are paid 5-10 times the medi
by Brakenshire 13y ago
I know there are issues which are specific to the States, but I would say this applies almost everywhere. Almost everywhere doctors are paid 5-10 times the median wage, because they are chosen from the top few percent of students, and that difference in wages introduces an inherent asymmetry in how many hours of work are necessary to buy an hour of a doctor's time. The majority of the population, certainly as people age, have low level health issues which they manage imperfectly. You don't exercise enough because your knee is a bit gammy (perhaps requiring physiotherapy or knee surgery), your cholesterol is high, cancer is spotted six months later than necessary because you thought your dodgy stomach or sore throat was just something minor, etc, etc. And, you know, even in countries with good health provision for the poor, the middle-class still get much better care, because they talk to their doctor friends, know how the system works, research their options thoroughly, and so on. Perfectly reasonable behaviour, but the fact that it is necessary shows up the gap and the inherent limits in provision. The cheaper healthcare is, the higher the baseline and the average can rise.
- eru 13y agoOh, sure, there's an infinite amount of (generalized) health care people might want to consume if the prices are low enough. You can get there either by lowering the pay of health care people, or by making them more productive per humman-hour, eg via automation or just better business practices.
- dagw 13y agoThere are two prices of health care I have to pay. One is the up front cash (or monthly insurance) cost I have to pay, the other is the massive time sink and general pain and inconvenience it is to get it. I live in country where the cash cost is basically zero, yet I consume as little health care as possible due to the high second cost. In fact the times I do need health care I often opt to pay more up front to avoid as much of the second cost as possible. As long as you keep the second high enough the demand for health care won't go to infinity even as the first cost goes to zero.
- eru 13y agoYes, the demand will only go up in relation to the total cost. (I am not sure making people wait and introducing hassle is a good way to regulate demand, though.)