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

CVS Is Said to Agree to Buy Aetna

nytimes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

1–10 of 155 posts

Re: CVS Is Said to Agree to Buy Aetna

#2

Post by rdl »

If this turns every CVS into a uniform, inexpensive office/urgent care/etc., particularly with telemedicine, I'll be happy -- the "minute clinic" stuff already provides cheaper and more convenient access to care, but CVS+Aetna+some kind of EHR could do something amazing.

Re: CVS Is Said to Agree to Buy Aetna

#4

Post by maxerickson »

rdl wrote: post #2

If this turns every CVS into a uniform, inexpensive office/urgent care/etc., particularly with telemedicine, I'll be happy -- the "minute clinic" stuff already provides cheaper and more convenient access to care, but CVS+Aetna+some kind of EHR could do something amazing.

Given that currently around 1 out of 9 locations has a minute clinic that seems unlikely.

https://cvshealth.com/about/facts-and-company-information

When I had Aetna, they didn't even cover getting a flu shot at the pharmacy. Maybe they changed that, but it's dumb, they covered it 100% using primary care.

Re: CVS Is Said to Agree to Buy Aetna

#8

Post by dqpb »

rhizome wrote: post #5
godzillabrennus wrote: post #3

Hopefully this helps consumers. I doubt it though. Seems like it’s going to take Jeff Bezos to fix healthcare in America.

Watch out for Engineer's Disease.

If I'm going to put my faith anywhere, it's going to be in science and engineering.

Re: CVS Is Said to Agree to Buy Aetna

#9

Post by Karnickel »

winslow wrote: post #6
rhizome wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Watch out for Engineer's Disease.

Could you elaborate?

For example, https://ask.metafilter.com/297591/Origin-of-the-term-Enginee...

> ...used to describe engineers and other technical folks assuming their technical knowledge of systems (usually computer, mechanical/electrical) gives them expertise in solving other complex issues.

Most of health care is a power/influence and social problem: Who gets to control things, who gets the money, who gets influence over the streams of money through the system? That's not an engineering problem but power play. Even if you _could_ show, using science, that you would get better outcomes with other methods, I don't think the people struggling for the honey pot care.

That's why thinking an engineer could build a better health care system seems misguided to me. Better machines to be used as part of the system, sure, but not the system itself. That's politics and hard-core power struggle for the money first of all. If the currently relevant people cared about the health outcomes they would already have changed the system. After all, that "U.S. Spends More on Health Care Than Other High-Income Nations But Has Lower Life Expectancy, Worse Health" (Americans Get Less Health Care, Spend More for It) [0] is not exactly news.

[0] http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/press-releases/...

Post reply on HN