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As Hospital Prices Soar, a Single Stitch Tops $500

nytimes.com

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Re: As Hospital Prices Soar, a Single Stitch Tops $500

#91

Post by rcthompson »

astrodust wrote: post #90
rcthompson wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's an article in the New York Times, an American newspaper. By default, it is about America. Not every news article needs to declare a globally unique namespace.

Ah, I forgot this was "Hacker News America".

My point has nothing to do with where HN is focused. The NYT is an American newspaper written for an American audience, so when they refer to "the healthcare system", it is implied that they are talking about the American healthcare system. If this were an article in an Indian newspaper, I would likewise assume that it was talking about healthcare in India. That doesn't make HN into "HN India".

Re: As Hospital Prices Soar, a Single Stitch Tops $500

#92

Post by astrodust »

rcthompson wrote: post #91
astrodust wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah, I forgot this was "Hacker News America".

My point has nothing to do with where HN is focused. The NYT is an American newspaper written for an American audience, so when they refer to "the healthcare system", it is implied that they are talking about the American healthcare system. If this were an article in an Indian newspaper, I would likewise assume that it was talking about healthcare in India. That doesn't make HN into "HN India".

Adding an American specific context to headlines talking about the healthcare system do serve as a reminder how exceptional the American system is. Many issues cut across international lines, as with technical articles, but this is not one of those things.

The New York Times is an international newspaper, it covers stories from all parts of the world. While they have a default America implied, yes, but why does this habit have to carry over to Hacker News?

Re: As Hospital Prices Soar, a Single Stitch Tops $500

#93

Post by anigbrowl »

maratd wrote: post #70
davidbanham wrote: post #6

How on earth can you think a free market solution is appropriate for emergency medical care? For elective procedures, sure. For the ER? How do you expect the consumer to have perfect knowledge, rationality and freedom of choice in that scenario? If your kid is gushing blood, you call an ambulance to take them wherever they can get patched up the fastest. To expect someone to shop around until they find an equilibrium…

> How on earth can you think a free market solution is appropriate for emergency medical care? You could say the same thing about funeral services. Yet it is a free market. And it works well. Because people buy plots ahead of time and negotiate services well in advance. Nothing is stopping you from walking into an emergency room at your local hospital and negotiating a fair hourly or daily rate for care. Well, nothin…

I would laugh, but I know many are crying right now, trying to make Obama's website work for them.

It's not as if the private insurance system that existed before Obama came to office was working especially well. While I agree that Obamacare's rollout has been a big mess, from the way some people talk you'd think insurers had never raised premiums or dropped people from coverage until last October. I'm guessing that a few years from now the bumps in rolling out Obamacare are going to be no more memorable than the bumps in rolling out Medicare ~50 years ago.

Re: As Hospital Prices Soar, a Single Stitch Tops $500

#94

Post by maratd »

anigbrowl wrote: post #93
maratd wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How on earth can you think a free market solution is appropriate for emergency medical care? You could say the same thing about funeral services. Yet it is a free market. And it works well. Because people buy plots ahead of time and negotiate services well in advance. Nothing is stopping you from walking into an emergency room at your local hospital and negotiating a fair hourly or daily rate for care. Well, nothin…

I would laugh, but I know many are crying right now, trying to make Obama's website work for them. It's not as if the private insurance system that existed before Obama came to office was working especially well. While I agree that Obamacare's rollout has been a big mess, from the way some people talk you'd think insurers had never raised premiums or dropped people from coverage until last October. I'm guessing that…

> I'm guessing that a few years from now the bumps in rolling out Obamacare are going to be no more memorable than the bumps in rolling out Medicare ~50 years ago.

Yes, of course. By that point, they would have gotten used to the incompetence and stupidity, fully expecting it.

Based on your reply, I can surmise that you haven't even tried to use the system and sign up for a plan.

Re: As Hospital Prices Soar, a Single Stitch Tops $500

#95

Post by anigbrowl »

maratd wrote: post #94
anigbrowl wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would laugh, but I know many are crying right now, trying to make Obama's website work for them. It's not as if the private insurance system that existed before Obama came to office was working especially well. While I agree that Obamacare's rollout has been a big mess, from the way some people talk you'd think insurers had never raised premiums or dropped people from coverage until last October. I'm guessing that…

> I'm guessing that a few years from now the bumps in rolling out Obamacare are going to be no more memorable than the bumps in rolling out Medicare ~50 years ago. Yes, of course. By that point, they would have gotten used to the incompetence and stupidity, fully expecting it. Based on your reply, I can surmise that you haven't even tried to use the system and sign up for a plan.

No, I'm happy to acknowledge it doesn't work well at the moment - which is why I mentioned the problems in the first place. However, I also expect it to improve in response to consumer demand.

Re: As Hospital Prices Soar, a Single Stitch Tops $500

#96

Post by rcthompson »

astrodust wrote: post #92
rcthompson wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My point has nothing to do with where HN is focused. The NYT is an American newspaper written for an American audience, so when they refer to "the healthcare system", it is implied that they are talking about the American healthcare system. If this were an article in an Indian newspaper, I would likewise assume that it was talking about healthcare in India. That doesn't make HN into "HN India".

Adding an American specific context to headlines talking about the healthcare system do serve as a reminder how exceptional the American system is. Many issues cut across international lines, as with technical articles, but this is not one of those things. The New York Times is an international newspaper, it covers stories from all parts of the world. While they have a default America implied, yes, but why does this…

> why does this habit have to carry over to Hacker News?

Because HN submissions are generally expected to be titled the same as the page/article being submitted, and this policy seems to be enforced by moderators. But luckily, HN also shows what domain the submission links to, so what you see is

> As Hospital Prices Soar, a Single Stitch Tops $500 (nytimes.com)

from which you can determine that the article is most likely about American healthcare.

Re: As Hospital Prices Soar, a Single Stitch Tops $500

#97

Post by davidbanham »

gaius wrote: post #83
davidbanham wrote: post #6

How on earth can you think a free market solution is appropriate for emergency medical care? For elective procedures, sure. For the ER? How do you expect the consumer to have perfect knowledge, rationality and freedom of choice in that scenario? If your kid is gushing blood, you call an ambulance to take them wherever they can get patched up the fastest. To expect someone to shop around until they find an equilibrium…

Sorry to nitpick but elective doesn't mean optional or frivolous, it just means planned in advance. I know this because I have some coming up.

Oh but that's the point! If you can plan it in advance, the free market solution may actually be appropriate. You have time to shop around, compare providers, etc. Whether it's necessary or not isn't the issue, just the time that you have to plan.
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