Why is healthcare so expensive?

Asdfghjkl wrote:

Regulation doesn't ensure quality or competence. The government is the seat of incompetence. Quality erodes in all industries protected from competition. Today's doctors are laughingstock because they face no competitive impetus to modify their ideas about how medicine should be practiced or how practitioners should be trained. Most people assume that any licensed doctor is fit to practice medicine just because he has a license and for no other reason. This illusion of security hurts people because most doctors do not actually have the skills they're supposed to have.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flexner_Report

Piano_Man87 wrote:Yet most people in the USA want single payer health care.

Not true! Those that identify as Republicans and vote for Republican candidates want overpriced medical care, overpriced medicine, and very high insurance premiums. They fiercely defend the current system in the United States as the only system that works well.

[quote]Asdfghjkl wrote:

Because I have a specialized, professional knowledge of particular area of health, and I've seen how ignorant the medical community is in addressing it. Deplorably bad care is accepted as standard.

Turn the question around: how do you know government-licensure ensures competence? On what facts do you base your judgment that government officials know the requirements for effective medical training?

You don't base this assumption on any facts. You close your eyes and have blind faith in authority. And this is a mistake that can cost you your health and life.[/quote

Please be more specific. What is your professional knowledge and in what area? The reality is that competence can only be established by peers who are experts in their field and licensure by same. No system is perfect and granted professional oversight of providers is sometimes lacking however it’s better then no system at all. What is your suggestion for Kaliningrad it better?

[quote]Piano_Man87 wrote:

It is pretty hilarious to read a thread wondering why health care is so expensive in the USA - the only country in the developed world that has 100% privatized health care, that doesn't negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies, etc.

It's not rocket science - health care is expensive in the USA because it is a business - and like any business, the good/service is provided for profit. The pharmaceutical companies lobby the feds hard to keep it that way. Yet most people in the USA want single payer health care.[/quote

100% provided healthcare?? Are you nuts or just uninformed? The bulk, around 60% or more is government funded IE Medicare/Medicaid. Even more so on the inpatient side. Medicare SHOULD be allowed to negotiate prices with the drug companies however. That won’t make a huge difference in cost, relatively speaking. And no most people in the US want don’t want single payor heath care. They also don’t want their incremental tax at 60 to 70% either to pay for it.

Damn spellcheck......... making not ”Kaliningrad”.

AndrewS29 wrote:

I mean yeah, it's a business, but there is healthcare in other countries and it's not seen as being a business so the question still stands. .

Computers are a business. So why have prices gone down? The problem isn't that health care is a business. It is that it is a business where market forces either can't or have been prevented from working. There are lots of causes for that (i.e. if you need a MRI, how easy is it for you to. shop on price? And how much money does it save you versus the insurance company. How many areas have local monopolies?) and solutions but none of them are really easy. And none will be easy fixes.

I basically skipped from the first page to the last page, but figured I would chime in on the folks that were saying that healthcare costs are too high because doctors are overpaid. Yes, doctors get paid a lot of money, but that is a good thing.

1. We want some of our best and brightest going into medical fields, and one of the best ways to make that happen is to make sure they will be very well compensated and able to live an affluent lifestyle (eventually).

2. In order to have competent doctors, they need to be very well trained. That means 4 years of medical school (after getting an undergraduate degree and also fulfilling the pre-requisites to get in to medical school), a residency (1-4 years) in which more senior doctors are teaching them on the job, and then more specialized fellowships for those pursing more advanced areas of specialty (which we want within our system!). Medical school is expensive, and many doctors took on large amounts of debt in order to go to medical school. They are then paid a relative pittance during any residency and fellowship programs. I should know, my wife is a doctor. We met while she was in residency. I am I high school teacher, and I was out-earning her. Medical school, residency and fellowship programs are notorious for being meat grinders - incredibly long hours, not much sleep, etc. There needs to be a light at the end of the tunnel to make all that debt and hard work worth it.

Somewhere. around 15% of the health care dollars (exact number depends a bit on methodology) goes to doctors. Doctors could work for free and health care would still be expensive.

adsfdasfasfsafadfa wrote:

Somewhere. around 15% of the health care dollars (exact number depends a bit on methodology) goes to doctors. Doctors could work for free and health care would still be expensive.

And a child birth costs approx. 30000 USD in US and approx. 4000 USD ,average, in Europe.

Why is healthcare so expensive?

I assume you are referring to healthcare in the USA. Healthcare in the USA is so expensive because of insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, and the lawyers that protect them. Yes, doctors get paid well, nurses get paid pretty well, and specialized technicians get paid well but combine their salaries and it's just a drop in the bucket.

Universal Healthcare is the answer

Europe>>USA

It was funny going back and reading this response to my post.

I think I triggered iflyboats. He left the thread after that.

Agree. As a European conservative.

There's several others. Healthcare related lobbyists.

Socialized mecdicine countries steal US made pharmecueticals and make cheap generics forcing Americans to foot the bill for the R&D. The US is responsible for 40% of healthcare advancements.

Total disconnect between the user and any market. Healthcare should no be associate with employers for so many reasons. But this takes away all ability for individuals to shop around for a plan. Then when you go to a provider there is no price differential to the consumer. Being no connection between the consumers ability to shop around and price they pay drives up the price.

Also healthcare being employer-provided eliminates the providers ability to charge based on the risk of the insured. There should be a cost differential based on lifestyle and with the exception of smoking there is none. If there was a real financial hit to the consumer lifestyle would change.

Why is it so expensive?

Well, how much is your life worth?

How much would you pay to live without pain?

If you owned an expensive Porshe but your mother were dying of a heart attack wouldn't you gladly hand over the keys to it to someone that had the knowledge and ability to save her?

I once heard the statistic that the city of Port Angeles Washington (Population 20,000) had more high tech medical equipment (MRIs etc) than all of British Columbia combined. You have to pay for that capital, technicians, Drs. etc. The same study also said that British Columbia would send their patients to the US for certain treatments because it was cheaper in the long run than buying all of the equipment.

sheltered wrote:I once heard the statistic that the city of Port Angeles Washington (Population 20,000) had more high tech medical equipment (MRIs etc) than all of British Columbia combined. You have to pay for that capital, technicians, Drs. etc. The same study also said that British Columbia would send their patients to the US for certain treatments because it was cheaper in the long run than buying all of the equipment.

Well there is a ferry service that runs between Port Angeles and Victoria, BC on Vancouver Island. Not sure how it is working now that the border between the US and Canada is closed except for trucking. Maybe open for some medical emergencies?