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

Amazon, Berkshire, JPMorgan to Create Healthcare Company

bloomberg.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

291–300 of 540 posts

Re: Amazon, Berkshire, JPMorgan to Create Healthcare Company

#291

Post by dv_dt »

L_Rahman wrote: post #211
pc86 wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People want to believe that their medical condition(s) are a special, one-in-a-billion mix requiring years or decades of rapport-building and conversations. That's not the case for the vast majority of people, even with very complicated medical histories and diagnoses. "Has seen me in the past" and "has my charts" are not indicative of medical efficacy. There are doctors I have rapport with, absolutely. I still have…

there is clinically proven evidence that seeing the same provider in the same setting improves outcomes: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/01/23/the-heroism-of...

Given the tiny slices of time doctors seem to have for each patient, it would seem that having time and history to have actually spent time with patients and their medical background would seem to be a common sense advantage. It's good to see that borne out in evidence.

Re: Amazon, Berkshire, JPMorgan to Create Healthcare Company

#292

Post by FireBeyond »

s73ver_ wrote: post #286
dv_dt wrote: post #277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An allowance 15-20% overhead for health insurance seems like pretty low bar for the industry...

And yet, it was groundbreaking when it was signed into law. People received refund checks after it went into effect.

And immediately after, administration costs shot up to ooh, 15-20%...

Re: Amazon, Berkshire, JPMorgan to Create Healthcare Company

#293

Post by pc86 »

L_Rahman wrote: post #211
pc86 wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People want to believe that their medical condition(s) are a special, one-in-a-billion mix requiring years or decades of rapport-building and conversations. That's not the case for the vast majority of people, even with very complicated medical histories and diagnoses. "Has seen me in the past" and "has my charts" are not indicative of medical efficacy. There are doctors I have rapport with, absolutely. I still have…

there is clinically proven evidence that seeing the same provider in the same setting improves outcomes: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/01/23/the-heroism-of...

There's also clinical evidence in favor of placebo usage, that doesn't mean that placebos increase medical efficacy, it means sometimes people just need to feel good about what's happening. And people - myself included - would probably prefer seeing the same physician long term.

Re: Amazon, Berkshire, JPMorgan to Create Healthcare Company

#294

Post by pbreit »

rvo wrote: post #167
11thEarlOfMar wrote: post #53

It's not just the cost. It's the incredible inefficiency of the operations, and, the gerrymandering of coverage. Under the ACA, I had to choose between allowing my family to continue to see their lifetime care givers, or, paying in network rates, for the full year, because the insurance company I chose gave me incorrect information when they were trying to get my business (my wife is less kind in evaluating their mot…

I wonder if we could collectively use civil disobedience and refuse to pay for healthcare and insurance until major changes are made to the system. Non violent civil disobedience. Essentially a strike against the system.

What would you change?

Re: Amazon, Berkshire, JPMorgan to Create Healthcare Company

#295

Post by neltnerb »

weka wrote: post #116
11thEarlOfMar wrote: post #53

It's not just the cost. It's the incredible inefficiency of the operations, and, the gerrymandering of coverage. Under the ACA, I had to choose between allowing my family to continue to see their lifetime care givers, or, paying in network rates, for the full year, because the insurance company I chose gave me incorrect information when they were trying to get my business (my wife is less kind in evaluating their mot…

I had the same unfortunate experience that in angers me to even think about it. - I leave my last employer on July 21, 2017 - My old employer rols me off system on last day of July 2017 - On June 2017, they switch HR providers from TriNET to Namely and now the payment processor is Discovery Benefits and the Dental/Vision are now in Guardian. (So it went from Aetna to Aetna/Guardian and two other companies). Since my…

I've also had lots of weird and frustrating insurance and doctor issues, but am surprised COBRA was your best bet or that your wife being high-risk was relevant. In the current system your preconditions shouldn't be a factor in the price.

I am also high-risk and have always found that the Obamacare market had prices close to or lower than the unsubsidized cost of an employer provided plan.

The most frustrating for me is that the doctors can't even guess how much their facility will charge for the treatment they decide is necessary, much less how much the bill will be after insurance gets their cut. It is a major barrier for me to get MRIs and blood tests. Especially blood tests, which seem to range in cost from practically free to thousands of dollars for a single blood test panel.

It's infuriating, and no matter how closely I read the insurance fine print I still cannot guess what the hospital and insurance plan negotiated ahead of time. Kaiser was way better, at least there the incentives were aligned to sane billing procedures.

Re: Amazon, Berkshire, JPMorgan to Create Healthcare Company

#296

Post by s73ver_ »

optimuspaul wrote: post #144
rocketpastsix wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, its not an edge case. If you have a rapport with a doctor/care provider, you would want to stay with them. I have a genetic disease and an endocrinologist who helps me manage it. I wouldn't want to leave that doctor, who has seen me multiple times, has my charts, understands what Im working with, and so much more.

I'm sorry but that does sound like the definition of an edge case to me. You have a rare situation that requires a unique solution.

Wanting to continue to see a provider that you know and trust is an "edge case" now?

We truly live in the darkest timeline.

Re: Amazon, Berkshire, JPMorgan to Create Healthcare Company

#297

Post by s73ver_ »

WisNorCan wrote: post #107
maxxxxx wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All involved players are mainly interested in lining their own pockets. The question if this will come at the expense of patients or other players in health care.

There is nothing wrong with “lining your own pockets” as a motivation. It is the fundamental driver of capitalism and the motivation for most entrepreneurs.

There is when that lining comes at the expense of the people that you're supposed to be helping.

Re: Amazon, Berkshire, JPMorgan to Create Healthcare Company

#298

Post by _jal »

mapgrep wrote: post #176

As some other people have mentioned below, the much lauded[1] vertically integrated health provider Kaiser Permanente started this way, as the health provider caring for the workers of an enlightened large employer, Kaiser Steel, which at the time was a massive shipbuilder for the Navy and others headquartered in California with a major presence in the SF Bay Area. I was briefly covered by a Kaiser plan, and have a l…

I've known two people who loved Kaiser until they had a serious issue. Not privy to a ton of the details, but it appears that they Kaiser is not immune to at least a divergence of interests with their patients when the figures get big.

Re: Amazon, Berkshire, JPMorgan to Create Healthcare Company

#299

Post by tmh79 »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #173
rsync wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"The whole reason we get insurance is to avoid those high prices." But only for unpredictable, irregular events. Anything else is uninsurable. If someone sells you "insurance" for wellness checkups[1], regular, scheduled screenings ... or tires on your car ... you can be absolutely assured that they are taking from you as much, or more, in premiums than the cost of those services. What you are looking for is socializ…

It's rather entertaining to see the fallout of costs becoming more transparent in America's healthcare system. There is a reason why the medical field is so lucrative in the US, and it's because for decades it's been subject to extreme price obfuscation. This is great for the merchants (pharmaceuticals, doctors, hospitals, medical software providers, nurses, etc), especially for such inelastic goods such as healthcar…

Residency programs are more restricted by funding for residency spots, not by the AAMC. Funding is, very weirdly, provided by Medicare. It's all a tangled mess with lots of weird stakeholders, but saying "doctors are using rent seeking behavior to limit new entrants to the field" is a bit disingenuous.

https://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/17/how-medicare-s...

https://www.aamc.org/advocacy/gme/71178/gme_gme0012.html

Re: Amazon, Berkshire, JPMorgan to Create Healthcare Company

#300

Post by DrJaws »

colmvp wrote: post #287
everdev wrote: post #250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ditched my BlueShield PPO for Kaiser and costs went down dramatically. There's tons of costs to be saved in healthcare and glad to see the private sector making an effort.

I tried applying to Kaiser and they rejected me for having a pre-existing condition which couldn't be helped given that I was born with it. Good for everyone else, I guess. :/ I ended up moving back home where the government covers my treatments.

They are a business not an ONG.

US is a shithole country in relation to healthcare systems

Post reply on HN