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The Greedy Doctor Problem

universalprior.substack.com

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Re: The Greedy Doctor Problem

#2
The obvious, obvious thing is to simply pay the doctor a fix priced each month wether they diagnose you with something or not. Well above what they would earn elsewhere.

Their incentive then becomes to keep a good relationship with you so you continue to pay them. The best way to do that is to keep you healthy and happy.

Re: The Greedy Doctor Problem

#3

The obvious, obvious thing is to simply pay the doctor a fix priced each month wether they diagnose you with something or not. Well above what they would earn elsewhere. Their incentive then becomes to keep a good relationship with you so you continue to pay them. The best way to do that is to keep you healthy and happy.

I agree with the idea of paying the doctor a flat fee every month, but in my variant, the doctor has to repay you the entire sum you've paid to date, with 10% interest, if you succumb to any preventable illnesses; in other words, the doctor now has some real skin in the game. S/he becomes motivated not only to keep you well, but to keep the fees reasonable.

Re: The Greedy Doctor Problem

#6

The ideal solution is to move to a country with a great public health care (say, Denmark or Switzerland).

Isn't that just handwaving the problem away? eg. "high corruption? the ideal solution to move to a country with a great civil service"

Re: The Greedy Doctor Problem

#7
post #3

The obvious, obvious thing is to simply pay the doctor a fix priced each month wether they diagnose you with something or not. Well above what they would earn elsewhere. Their incentive then becomes to keep a good relationship with you so you continue to pay them. The best way to do that is to keep you healthy and happy.

I agree with the idea of paying the doctor a flat fee every month, but in my variant, the doctor has to repay you the entire sum you've paid to date, with 10% interest, if you succumb to any preventable illnesses; in other words, the doctor now has some real skin in the game. S/he becomes motivated not only to keep you well, but to keep the fees reasonable.

The doctor will purchase "refund insurance" and pass that cost along in the monthly retainer.

Re: The Greedy Doctor Problem

#8
post #7
post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with the idea of paying the doctor a flat fee every month, but in my variant, the doctor has to repay you the entire sum you've paid to date, with 10% interest, if you succumb to any preventable illnesses; in other words, the doctor now has some real skin in the game. S/he becomes motivated not only to keep you well, but to keep the fees reasonable.

The doctor will purchase "refund insurance" and pass that cost along in the monthly retainer.

Yeah that just passes the buck to someone else (the insurer), who is incentivized to investigate malfeasance.

Re: The Greedy Doctor Problem

#9
post #7
post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with the idea of paying the doctor a flat fee every month, but in my variant, the doctor has to repay you the entire sum you've paid to date, with 10% interest, if you succumb to any preventable illnesses; in other words, the doctor now has some real skin in the game. S/he becomes motivated not only to keep you well, but to keep the fees reasonable.

The doctor will purchase "refund insurance" and pass that cost along in the monthly retainer.

Fair point, but if the client does develop a preventable condition, it would be easy to show this is due to dereliction/negligence on the part of the physician, so the insurance would not pay out. If the client came down with a condition and the physician was not negligent, the condition would likely be non-preventable, wherein the refund clause wouldn't apply, anyway. Thus, regardless of outcome, insurance can never pay out, and the physician retains all the liability, i.e. no use for insurance.

Re: The Greedy Doctor Problem

#10

The obvious, obvious thing is to simply pay the doctor a fix priced each month wether they diagnose you with something or not. Well above what they would earn elsewhere. Their incentive then becomes to keep a good relationship with you so you continue to pay them. The best way to do that is to keep you healthy and happy.

This was also my first idea when I read the problem. As the payments stop as soon as you die, this is a strong incentive. The only thing I could think of arguing is, that the doc could keep demanding more and more. But that would imply a situation with only one or very few skilled individuals, right?
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