Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us (2013) [pdf]

uta.edu

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 94 posts

Re: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us (2013) [pdf]

#51

Post by ubernostrum »

MichaelBurge wrote: post #47
ubernostrum wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Single payer works well in many places other than the US. People on private insurance plans in the US die or suffer while waiting for care their plans allegedly offer, while executives of those private insurance companies get "lavish bonuses".

The US is the wrong level of government for a healthcare system. If a place like California wanted to offer free healthcare to its residents, that's fine, but the federal government should only be responsible for war, negotiating trade deals, handling immigration, and other external issues. Keep in mind that "many other places" are smaller than a single US state.

Your view went out of fashion with the Articles of Confederation; the ultra-limited "only for a handful of external-facing issues" federal government was an abject failure.

Re: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us (2013) [pdf]

#52

Post by rch »

no_protocol wrote: post #34
rch wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to work at M.D. Anderson and I can attest to their quality of care. People travel from around the world to receive treatment, for good reason. Also, my mother was a patient there. She started treatment just a couple of months after I got my job actually. She's still doing well years later, and is glad she waited an extra month to get into M.D Anderson. The decision to wait was excruciating though.

You seem to have some firsthand knowledge of the situation, maybe you can help me with the question I posed earlier. This medical center in Texas seems to be providing a great level of service. I am wondering why patients need to attend directly to get this level of care. I thought that medical findings were published in journals and shared among professionals in the field. If M.D. Anderson has a dozen (or a hundred)…

I think the systems of institutions and people that treat cancer reflect the complexity of the problem itself. The research atmosphere and constant professional development are just as important as individual bedside interactions.

That said, all of the hospitals mentioned here are doing amazing things every day, and finding the best place for treatment really does come down to the specifics of each case.

Re: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us (2013) [pdf]

#53

Post by ScottBurson »

WalterBright wrote: post #44

Here's an in-depth article explaining it: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2009/09/how-amer... tl,dr: it's because people who incur the costs are not the people who pay for it.

That's a thoughtful piece, with some interesting suggestions toward the end. Your "tl;dr" is not inaccurate, but I hope people will read the whole thing.

Re: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us (2013) [pdf]

#54

Post by ryuker16 »

ams6110 wrote: post #6
ScottBurson wrote: post #2

I came across this last night and stayed up too late reading it. It's a fascinating exposé of where at least a good part of the money is going -- the extra money that we Americans spend on health care that doesn't bring us any better outcomes. I think it's relevant to HN because a lot of us with families and/or in middle age can't risk quitting our jobs to start startups without assurance that we'll be able to buy ad…

Routine medical care should be like food and shelter: something you are expected to pay for yourself. That would put price pressure on providers. Insurance should be a backstop for catastrophic accident or illness. It should be sold by competing local and national providers. It should be untangled from employment as a benefit. You should buy it like car insurance. Obama, Trump, Clinton. senators, representatives -- n…

I suspect many will skip it entirely...there was a reason car insurance was made mandatory.

Re: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us (2013) [pdf]

#55

Post by FussyZeus »

Speaking as an extremely pro-Capitalist person, this is the kind of area where Government interventions are required. Capitalism and fair markets require a few basic things:

- Informed consumers (most consumers of healthcare either don't know enough about it to make any solid judgement) - Competition (most hospitals in any given area are grouped together and rarely compete, if at all) - Choice (if you're in an ambulance, you can't exactly instruct the EMTs to take you to 'the better hospital'), plus when it comes to niche treatments like chemo, there often aren't any choices, just the closest one to you that offers the service you need.

And again as a Capitalist: You take a high value, required product, mix with a group of consumers who don't have a choice whether or not to buy, and a business minded person with no ethical compass whatsoever and you'll have record profits and screwed customers. Simple as that.

Re: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us (2013) [pdf]

#56

Post by snarf21 »

ams6110 wrote: post #6
ScottBurson wrote: post #2

I came across this last night and stayed up too late reading it. It's a fascinating exposé of where at least a good part of the money is going -- the extra money that we Americans spend on health care that doesn't bring us any better outcomes. I think it's relevant to HN because a lot of us with families and/or in middle age can't risk quitting our jobs to start startups without assurance that we'll be able to buy ad…

Routine medical care should be like food and shelter: something you are expected to pay for yourself. That would put price pressure on providers. Insurance should be a backstop for catastrophic accident or illness. It should be sold by competing local and national providers. It should be untangled from employment as a benefit. You should buy it like car insurance. Obama, Trump, Clinton. senators, representatives -- n…

I agree with this. Obamacare should have created rules for a national minimum policy, largely targeted at catastrophic incidents. Remove the ability of employers to buy coverage for their employees (a holdover from WWII staffing shortages) and let be more open and market driven.

We also need to reform pharma. When even K-mart has a pharmacy it shows how much money could be removed there.

Lastly, we need to change our perspective about aging. If you live long enough, you will (most likely) get cancer. This is how the body works, not specifically a "disease". We need to stop paying $1M for the 75 year old who gets brain cancer so that they can live for 2 extra months. Feel free to spend your own money but Medicare won't. They already have laws like this in France, etc.

Re: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us (2013) [pdf]

#57

Post by ainiriand »

no_protocol wrote: post #3

Why did the patient in the first story absolutely need to travel from Ohio to Texas for treatment? Isn't medical knowledge shared between providers? Some of the blame in many of these situations should fall upon the patients for choosing the care they did. Especially when it is a planned operation. I haven't finished reading the whole article, but so far it doesn't seem to be considering this point. I don't wish to d…

The medical system should choose the most viable care for them. They are not meant to be experts in this stuff, right?
Post reply on HN