31–40 of 299 posts
I don't understand how some ( to me ) obvious anticompetitive corps seem to go unnoticed, but in this case veterinary clinics are receiving scrutiny.
I don't understand how some ( to me ) obvious anticompetitive corps seem to go unnoticed, but in this case veterinary clinics are receiving scrutiny.
There's also a sort of an unsaid quid pro quo here. News media highlights things that it thinks are important and if the FTC chairs decide to act on those, news media praises them which, in the end, helps them get the recognition that they need for their future aspirations.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
ah yes, a more profit driven healthcare sector, exactly what this country needs
Healthcare was more affordable back when individuals payed for it. The problem was that some could not, so we introduced insurance. At this point no one can afford it anymore without insurance. So our fix for one problem created a new problem.
Interesting. Doesn't Mars own a ton of specialty vet clinics too? (E.g. the VCA chain)
I don't understand how some ( to me ) obvious anticompetitive corps seem to go unnoticed, but in this case veterinary clinics are receiving scrutiny.
My partner works in this industry and in fact has friends that are affected by this merger. While the FTC can and does have the ability to do many things simultaneously, the current situation in the vet industry is dire . Corporate vets are more profitable (through price-gouging), have a virtual stranglehold on increasingly limited labor pools, and are pretty much the only ones that can afford to invest in specialty…
Interesting. I'd like to see more action against the financialization of many other industries / domains, like healthcare and even housing, that I feel are not well served by a purely-market driven perspective. One wonders what the Private Equity firm's intention was here.
> One wonders what the Private Equity firm's intention was here. no, i don't think anyone's wondering that. private equity firms have one purpose and one purpose only.
It took 12 hours for my dog to be seen at the emergency vet I went to recently. It was brutal. And that was the only one that would agree to have us come in. It was over an hour a way. All the local clinics said don’t come in unless it was a last minute euthanization or the animal was unresponsive. Crazy.
I accidentally stepped on my dogs paw about a year ago and getting an appointment less than a month out took DAYS of calling around. Ended up going to a vet 40 miles away.
Interesting. I'd like to see more action against the financialization of many other industries / domains, like healthcare and even housing, that I feel are not well served by a purely-market driven perspective. One wonders what the Private Equity firm's intention was here.
> One wonders what the Private Equity firm's intention was here. no, i don't think anyone's wondering that. private equity firms have one purpose and one purpose only.
(I joke, your point is well taken)
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> One wonders what the Private Equity firm's intention was here. no, i don't think anyone's wondering that. private equity firms have one purpose and one purpose only.
I guess it might be fairer to then say "I wonder why nobody says out loud that such an acquisition will definitely lead to a decline in service for consumers".
Interesting. I'd like to see more action against the financialization of many other industries / domains, like healthcare and even housing, that I feel are not well served by a purely-market driven perspective. One wonders what the Private Equity firm's intention was here.
Quoted post unavailable.
The reason pricing isn't available is because that's negotiated between the provider and the insurance companies.
Since most patients are using insurance, hospitals have to negotiate with some of the major insurance providers.
Insurance companies do not want hospitals have transparent pricing, since they want people to buy insurance. Insurance companies also want uninsured people to pay a higher price, again, so people buy insurance.
People can't choose their insurance providers because it's tied to their employment (in most cases).
The market settled on this extremely convoluted system, which makes no sense to outsiders, specifically because it's so profitable. The only way out of it is through regulations that prohibit certain anti-competitive behavior, or for the establishment of competition in the insurance segment, which has no profit motive (and who would start a business with no profit motive?)
Most parties kind of like the status quo. Insurance companies collect from employers, rather than individuals, so most people don't see the true cost of insurance. Hospitals get to charge insane amounts for certain procedures, since patients won't pay the entire bill, the insurance company will. And (upper-middle-class) patients are mostly happy, because healthcare feels cheap to them (since, again they never see the true cost they paid).