41–50 of 77 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It has negative externalities as well. The poor cannot afford to donate kidneys - the time out of work, the lifetime extra health maintenance and checkups. So it becomes a rich person's prerogative. And it remove a source of cash from an entire population, with all that entails.
I'm not surprised - you probably didn't even look into the living donor programs available in the US. Many hospitals will cover most if not all of these costs, including your wages, health maintenance, checkups, etc. If the hospital near you won't cover these things, the National Living Donor Assistance Program will help. > And it remove a source of cash from an entire population, with all that entails There's someth…
I can sell my life (ok, 8 hours of every day) and no problem.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I believe Andrew Yang also supports this to some extent IIRC.
You can only bring down costs and combat things like hospital consolidations through a single payer system and dismantling private insurance (i.e. Bernie or Jayapal’s bills), so none of the “compromises” proposed by other candidates will do anything too meaningful. If you want a good breakdown on why, I recommend Tim Faust’s new book: https://www.mhpbooks.com/books/health-justice-now/ https://www.stitcher.com/podcast…
The issue with any political solution is that hospitals will fight any legislation like crazy. Hospitals probably have more political power than even the drug industry, and the drug industry has obviously been able to fight price controls pretty well.
The risk I see with any political solutions is that politicians create watered-down legislation that makes voters think they are tackling the issue, but don't really have much teeth. That's the win-win for politicians -- if you pass a toothless medicare for all bill, voters will applaud you, and you won't anger potential donors from industry.
30% of US healthcare spend goes to hospitals, and 20% to physicians (many of whom are employed by hospitals even if they are outpatient clinics -- the % of physicians employed by hospitals in the US is at an all time high) Hospital consolidation has been increasing the last few decades. Many hospitals are regional monopolies and have a ton of leverage in negotiations with insurers. Insurance companies put the squeeze…
How can we fight this, when so much money is on the line, to make sure that this golden goose keeps fleecing the middle class?
Merge all the regional monopolies into one big national hospital monopoly, with all the drug buying power that brings. Then get the Trump/Clinton Care bill passed that controls insurance prices and regulates this new 'National Health Service' as the hospital monopoly might be called.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
You can only bring down costs and combat things like hospital consolidations through a single payer system and dismantling private insurance (i.e. Bernie or Jayapal’s bills), so none of the “compromises” proposed by other candidates will do anything too meaningful. If you want a good breakdown on why, I recommend Tim Faust’s new book: https://www.mhpbooks.com/books/health-justice-now/ https://www.stitcher.com/podcast…
A single-payer system isn't the only way to bring down costs and fight hospital consolidations. Enforcement of antitrust laws on regional hospital monopolies is another potential way. Although tipping the scales more in favor of payers, with single payer being the extreme variant of this, could work as well The issue with any political solution is that hospitals will fight any legislation like crazy. Hospitals probab…
> The risk I see with any political solutions is that politicians create watered-down legislation that makes voters think they are tackling the issue, but don't really have much teeth
I agree, which is why you have to start from the strongest possible negotiating stake with a corresponding infrastructure of mass organization and support (again, Bernie and his bill).
These industries are absolutely ruthless, profit from people at their most vulnerable, and will fight tooth and nail to continue this deeply predatory behavior. If you approach them with even the slightest indication that you will bend to their will, they will eat you for lunch.
I really wish we had transparent pricing, it's maddening, outrageous and needs to be required by law.
a) This article purports to answer the question of why medical care costs so much, collectively. Its answer: 'prices'. But it does basically nothing to interrogate why prices are high, despite claiming to at several points. b) One extraordinarily simple thing we could do to deflate medical costs in this country that would have essentially zero negative effects would be to create a market in kidneys. Medicare currentl…
Wow. Incentivizing people who need money to sell their organs has "zero negative effects"? Really?
a) This article purports to answer the question of why medical care costs so much, collectively. Its answer: 'prices'. But it does basically nothing to interrogate why prices are high, despite claiming to at several points. b) One extraordinarily simple thing we could do to deflate medical costs in this country that would have essentially zero negative effects would be to create a market in kidneys. Medicare currentl…
a) You must not have read the piece: "the bills are high because of who is paying them"; "insurance companies spend some eighteen cents for every dollar they collect in premiums on administration costs: 'marketing, determining eligibility, utilization controls (e.g., prior authorization of particular procedures), claims processing, and negotiating fees with each and every physician, hospital, and other health care wo…
The 18% overhead of insurance companies, just like the overuse of care argument rebutted in the article, does not explain the high relative cost of care in the US.
Similar pattern is there for College education in US. A lot of discussion is around loans and financial aid but not why basic classroom based degrees cost so much.
There are some new universities being founded to increase supply, but online education is taking off too.