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

Private healthcare makes industries less innovative. It's time for change

werd.io

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

81–90 of 167 posts

Re: Private healthcare makes industries less innovative. It's time for change

#81

Post by drakythe »

abeppu wrote: post #25

In the US market, where union participation is also very low, it's weird to me that this is an important reason people stay in their jobs, may influence what kind of jobs you take (full time vs contracting?), but: - job offers generally do not want to get into details on the health insurance offering. it's not a main "competition" point - except when subject to some kind of union negotiated contract, the employer can…

Chiming in to say that health insurance and benefits are a huge part of what I look for in job listings, and all of my friends currently looking for new jobs too. It may feel less relevant when we were young, but approaching middle age and it becomes a huge driver of continuing in a shitty job and in accepting an offer.

Re: Private healthcare makes industries less innovative. It's time for change

#82

Post by maerF0x0 »

Schlagbohrer wrote: post #59

It also kills many, many people, so, the profit motive needs to be permanently and forever abolished from healthcare. In the US doctors look at patients with dollar signs in their eyes and simply ask, "How much money can I squeeze out of this NPC?" leading to countless abuses, from unecessary and harmful procedures being forced on non-consenting patients (like infant genital mutilation) to denial of needed healthcare…

I agree with you about Infant genital mutilation (circumcision) but disagree the issue is the doctors themselves. I think the shrinking pool of competition is the major issue. (Hospitals being privatized with VC money etc)

Re: Private healthcare makes industries less innovative. It's time for change

#83

Post by jsdalton »

stult wrote: post #73
megaman821 wrote: post #12

This is less about private healthcare and more about how employer-provided healthcare is tax advantaged. Credits and tax breaks should go to the individual so they can choose and keep their insurance through different jobs.

I don't get why decoupling insurance from employment isn't a bigger part of the healthcare reform discourse. It's the most obvious, easiest, lowest hanging fruit for improving the US healthcare system, and almost uniquely politically acceptable to both Democratic and Republican voters. Decoupling also doesn't entail disrupting any of the established incumbents (pharma, AMA, insurance companies, etc.) who typically ki…

I’m likewise baffled. Healthcare spending is a major cost for all employers. Decoupling healthcare from employment would theoretically remove this cost immediately. Shouldn’t pro-business groups have long been lobbying for this?

The fact that they are not tells me there must be some other financial incentives at work that are unclear to me.

Re: Private healthcare makes industries less innovative. It's time for change

#84

Post by therealdrag0 »

natsucks wrote: post #63
Ajedi32 wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, the title gave me whiplash because I went in expecting an argument for socialized healthcare, then read a couple paragraphs and realized the article was actually presenting an argument against government meddling in the healthcare industry, then read further and realized it was actually using the problems created by government meddling in the healthcare industry to argue for more government meddling.

"the thing I miss most is the NHS. It’s been treated like a political football since I left and is apparently a shell of its former self — not because the idea is bad and can’t work but because conservative politicians, some of whom have received funding from private healthcare companies, have deliberately sabotaged it." really it could not be because government is bad at managing massive programs and provides no inc…

Socialized programs require strict definitions and firm hands on drawing lines of inclusions and limits to balance the budget.

Re: Private healthcare makes industries less innovative. It's time for change

#85

Post by maerF0x0 »

reticulates wrote: post #51
Synthetic7346 wrote: post #20

One thing that's never been clear to me is how either system plans on scaling healthcare. You have X doctors who can see (just a guess) 30X patients. Unless the number of doctors increase, some patients are going to be left out. In the current system it's those without employment. I'm other countries there's a waitlist. How can we make sure there's enough staff to provide adequate healthcare for everyone?

The U.S. has waitlists too? The U.S. makes people wait based on how much money they have, socialized healthcare systems make people wait based on an assessment of need. The latter is obviously better, even though it is not perfect. You’ll find that most everyone living with socialized healthcare believes it to be adequate when compared to the U.S. system. Adequate does not mean without flaws, adequate doesn’t mean av…

> You’ll find that most everyone living with socialized healthcare believes it to be adequate when compared to the U.S. system

This is not true for Canadians. Many have to travel to the US, India, or otherwise abroad to purchase the healthcare they desire which is not available to them in Canada.

In Canada you have to get sick enough for the system to triage you into the quotas. But maybe you want to stay healthy before things get too bad?

Re: Private healthcare makes industries less innovative. It's time for change

#86

Post by maerF0x0 »

Grombobulous wrote: post #44

Universal single-payer healthcare is one of the most pro-business and traditionally conservative with a lower case C thing you can imagine. It’s pretty much a no-brainer cost reduction for everyone. This doesn’t even mean you need to get rid of private insurance companies (see: Germany).

Single payer maybe, but single provider? Never.

Re: Private healthcare makes industries less innovative. It's time for change

#87

Post by therealdrag0 »

Cyclone_ wrote: post #80
ajmurmann wrote: post #5

Good article in general but such a misleading headline and framing. The problem, as described in the article's body, is employer-provided health insurance, not private healthcare.

So how would private healthcare happen without employer provided insurance?

Same way you buy anything else without your employer getting in the way?

Re: Private healthcare makes industries less innovative. It's time for change

#88

Post by ryandrake »

Aurornis wrote: post #47
abeppu wrote: post #25

In the US market, where union participation is also very low, it's weird to me that this is an important reason people stay in their jobs, may influence what kind of jobs you take (full time vs contracting?), but: - job offers generally do not want to get into details on the health insurance offering. it's not a main "competition" point - except when subject to some kind of union negotiated contract, the employer can…

> job offers generally do not want to get into details on the health insurance offering. it's not a main "competition" point Health insurance has been a primary topic in every job offer I’ve had, my entire career. If a company won’t discuss the insurance situation or provide details about the employee contribution, that’s a warning sign. This is a routine topic for negotiations and any company hiding this data is not…

Are there really employers who negotiate this? Every job I've ever had in tech had a single "medical benefit" package that everyone just got. You couldn't negotiate your particular health insurance premium or what portion the employer paid for. Everyone gets the same thing. The only choice I've ever seen was a menu of two options: PPO or high-deductible plan.

So it's good to know the details of the plan (so you know your doctor isn't going to suddenly be out-of-network) but there's not much you can do with this info besides "take the job or leave it."

I'm sure when it comes to executive compensation, everything is open to negotiation, but not for us worker bees.

Re: Private healthcare makes industries less innovative. It's time for change

#89

Post by bluGill »

Cyclone_ wrote: post #80
ajmurmann wrote: post #5

Good article in general but such a misleading headline and framing. The problem, as described in the article's body, is employer-provided health insurance, not private healthcare.

So how would private healthcare happen without employer provided insurance?

Same way my auto body repairs are done. I have insurance on my car that isn't through my company. I can choose who the provider is. I'm not limited to the two plans my company offers from the same provider. There are dozens of companies who want my business.

Re: Private healthcare makes industries less innovative. It's time for change

#90

Post by lII1lIlI11ll »

reticulates wrote: post #68
Taikonerd wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure which country you're from, but many EU countries do have private health insurance. The Netherlands, for example, has a system of subsidized private insurance, and a mandate that everyone buy a policy. (If Americans are thinking, "huh, that sounds like Obamacare / the ACA marketplace!" then you're right.)

The Dutch system and the U.S. system are not comparable. Health insurance in the U.S. is a “free market” that the government dabbles in with a little policy here and there. Health insurance in The Netherlands is controlled by the government, it is heavily regulated.

Still it is worth highlighting on this forum since many Americans believe that healthcare is "free" across Europe.
Post reply on HN