This video is a gross over simplification and raises more questions than answers: How do people afford the "maintenance"? What is your definition of maintenance? What if someone has a degenerative disease or injury that requires continuous medical visits for a very long period of time? Should insurance companies only cover life saving emergency procedures? A car and a house are luxuries, should we treat peoples health like a luxury? You only get t be healthy if you can afford it?
No, those prices are inflated articially by insurance companies looking for a "bargain" on their side and also to make it look like you need insurance to cover to those costs. In truth, if those prices were set by the market, instead of shady under the table negotiations, they would be lower. Already, I can get a flu shot at a pharmacy, like Walgreens for example, for less than $10 without insurance.
The issue is that the current pricing structure for most routine care is completely out of whack. So, why is it so expensive, and are there solutions to bring the costs to a more manageable level? Reasons for costs: 1. Health regulations. Many small, routine procedures and medications are heavily regulated in the United States. Prescriptions in particular face little market competition due to the stringent FDA requirements that keep competitors out. 2. Malpractice costs. Doctors are constantly under threat of litigation if they make one false move. They must, therefore, pay for extremely high malpractice insurance to avoid becoming a lawyer's chew toy. 3. Education costs. Doctors and other health professionals must invest substantial time and capital into earning their degrees or training. This cost is transferred to the public through higher prices. 4. Government policy. When the ACA was implemented, one of the first things that it required was that doctors shift to an electronic patient monitoring system. It also required a great deal more documentation on the part of the medical office. This in turn has had one of two disastrous effects: 1. Doctor's offices hire more staff to cover the additional clerical load, driving up prices. or 2. Doctor's offices close to avoid hiring more staff, and the doctors affiliate with hospitals and other high cost point of service locations to pool the costs. Potential solutions: As you may have noticed, many of the reasons for the costs are related to health care quality. In America there is a certain level of expectation to be able to walk into a doctor's office and have a potential malpractice suit keep them from being negligent. Or the expectation that the medication you are taking in is thoroughly tested for safety and drug interactions. You also probably want doctors to spend a great deal of time training and learning from the best (hence the cost) Here are some (potential) solutions: 1. Permit doctors to have waivers for care for all routine care. This would eliminate the need for General Practitioners to have malpractice insurance, and would greatly reduce routine care costs. Now, the rub here is that the patient would need to make sure that the doctor they are getting advice from is competent, however, there are many ways (references, online reviews, etc) that a patient can get a sense for the professionalism of the doctor. Otherwise the doctor is not held liable if they gave you improper advice or misdiagnosed an issue. 2. All doctor's offices to operate independently and select their own method of patient record keeping (so long as it complies with HIPPA privacy) 3. Permit U.S. citizens to privately choose what medication they take in - even if it is experimental. Stores are unlikely to stock an ineffective or harmful drug anyway - and the market will promote them more effective alternatives. These alternatives will help drive down the cost. The issue in this case is that we may experience, a return of the snake oil salesman (one might argue we still have them in the business of essential oils and nutrition supplements) and some dangerous drugs may make it widely to market before the issue is discovered. However, that is already the case with many drugs and procedures - with recalls and adverse side effects being a common concern anyway. Here's one solution I would not suggest: the single payer health system. This system is fine in an enclosed society with a relatively small population that is generally economically prosperous. However, introduce socialized care into a flagging economy and there won't be enough resources to sustain such a system for very long - doubly so if there are open borders, as this encourages new arrivals who are usually not established to take from the plan for much longer than they potentially contribute.
Here is the difference, healthcare should not have a primary motive of profit. I am all for profit, but keeping people alive should be the primary goal of insurance and healthcare. This video compares preventative healthcare to buying gas for a car. Here's the difference, one is a human being. From a fiscally conservative stand point, preventative care reduces the cost to individuals and tax payers, by addressing concerns before they become unbelievable expensive and we pay for it anyways.
Yes, except that a light bulb costs $1.00 while an uninsured visit to the family doctor can cost up to $50 or more and the prescription medication you are told to get can cost well over $100. To manage health costs we must first reel in the costs of "typical everyday" non-emergency incidents.
Small medical problems over time lead to catastrophe. Preventative care prevents catastrophe and lowers prices in the long run. Besides a lot of people can't afford the "routine and predictable" expenses. Who funds this channel?
I second that. We should structure our healthcare system to focus on preventative care to avoid bigger costs in the future. I would like to see the US move towards a single payer system as a way to reduce cost. Or we can start with a public option among states first.
No one is arguing against the saying "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". What is being said, is that the prevention is YOUR responsibility in most (if not all) other insurances. When you shift ALL costs (both prevention and cure) to insurance, then the total cost of insurance goes up. The cost of prevention and cure is more than the cost of just cure alone (even if the former cure is less severe). Even if we agree preventative care is cheaper in the long run (which it isn't), it is coercive to force people to pay for insurance they don't want. "One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results.”
but what about people, like me, who have chronic illnesses? our "routine" health care needs are pretty pricy. I pay close to $100 a month for my meds. not to mention my saline infusions, my saline pump, and the occasional ambulance ride. all of which my insurance fights me on vehemently.
That would be covered under catastrophic coverage in my opinion. Presumably your illness had a start and that catastrophic illness should be covered IMO. As for fighting you, that is just how insurance works. My car insurance never want to pay out, ever.
That's interesting but by those definitions people will tell you they just don't want your "health insurance" and demand "health care".. In other words cut out those who profit off health "insurance" that profit could go towards actual medical care. Not saying its right or wrong but thats what ppl are demanding.
We are the only developed country that does not cover all of its citizens health care. We do not cover complete health care because of insurance companies eating up a big chunk of our health care dollars. We are a rich country and can easily do what other countries have done for years. Protect all of our people. The health insurance industry is just a leach on our lives. CEO's reap millions of dollars in salaries, live in palatial buildings, and travel first class. They are not needed and thirty developed countries have proven this. No more false arguments. Provide complete health care for our people.
"insurance companies eating up a big chunk of our health care dollars." Last I checked, insurance profit margins are around 5%. Pretty standard for most industries. What actually cost a lot are the hospitals. Just look at the cost of stuff. I broke my thumb once, cost my insurance company $24,000 to fix. That was for one bone. If you want to see where the money is going, look at your bill. The money is going to hospitals.
After reading all the comments of sensible people I concluded that the writer is in favor of millionaire insurance executives, not health care for the average American. Ben Franklin would be aghast at this nuts conclusions.
Wow... What a fucked up argument. Insurance is expensive, so let's lower our expectations? Wtf? Nevermind that the US has the worst infant mortality rate of any developed country, let's just ignore the massive price inflation happening between providers and patients. I'm sorry, but this makes for a garbage argument that effectively amounts to doing nothing at all. Make it cheaper by doing less. Ignore the underlying problems with the black-box insurance system. Ok... 🙄
