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Study Suggests Medical Errors Now Third Leading Cause of Death in U.S. (2016)

hopkinsmedicine.org

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Re: Study Suggests Medical Errors Now Third Leading Cause of Death in U.S. (2016)

#21

Post by gambiting »

freeone3000 wrote: post #14
bambax wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> insurance companies don't want to work with them I'm not familiar with the peculiarities of the US healthcare system, but why wouldn't insurance companies work with off-brand medications? If it costs less it's good for them, no?

Medical insurer's profits are limited to a percentage of their gross income, so, more expensive medications and procedures are preferred to less expensive ones in order to preserve overall income.

I don't understand. If you pay $5000 a year for your medical insurance, but it paid $10k for your medication, how have they made money? If they could purchase the same medication for $2000 instead, surely it would be more profitable for them?

Re: Study Suggests Medical Errors Now Third Leading Cause of Death in U.S. (2016)

#22

Post by clinicalcurious »

21723 wrote: post #10
danuker wrote: post #2

Relevant: the US spends double the amount of other countries on healthcare, yet has a life expectancy 3 years shorter. https://ourworldindata.org/us-life-expectancy-low

Our healthcare system is an absolute travesty for the poor, but it's pretty lousy even for people who can afford care. I know plenty of people with 7- and 8-figure net worth, people who have connections to the medical system, who've still received substandard care. It's at the point where no one's winning.

Which healthcare system are you referring to? US? Or another country? Honest question.

I am also curious to understand if European, UK and Asian healthcare systems suffer from substandard care problem.

Re: Study Suggests Medical Errors Now Third Leading Cause of Death in U.S. (2016)

#23

Post by TheRealDunkirk »

andreareina wrote: post #13

Or maybe not: https://youtu.be/Jbsy7VObyyM

He’s apparently so important and busy that he has to make these videos while driving in his super car from point A to point B. 15 years ago, this “content” would have been a blog post, which we could have skimmed in 30 seconds to get the gist of the counter argument. Now it’s a 10 minute video with no notes, buried behind 2 ads. Next time, give us a 2 sentence summarization of the argument you’re linking.

Re: Study Suggests Medical Errors Now Third Leading Cause of Death in U.S. (2016)

#25

Post by kuu »

bambax wrote: post #19
freeone3000 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Medical insurer's profits are limited to a percentage of their gross income, so, more expensive medications and procedures are preferred to less expensive ones in order to preserve overall income.

Ah... Thanks... Unintended consequences strike again.

Not so sure it is unintended...

Re: Study Suggests Medical Errors Now Third Leading Cause of Death in U.S. (2016)

#28

Post by closewith »

gambiting wrote: post #21
freeone3000 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Medical insurer's profits are limited to a percentage of their gross income, so, more expensive medications and procedures are preferred to less expensive ones in order to preserve overall income.

I don't understand. If you pay $5000 a year for your medical insurance, but it paid $10k for your medication, how have they made money? If they could purchase the same medication for $2000 instead, surely it would be more profitable for them?

Part of the U.S Affordable Care Act is the so-called 80/20 rule, which limits profit margins to 20%. Therefore, the greater the overall healthcare spend by insurance companies, the greater the allowable profit.
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