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We would have to wait in line for a year to get a simple procedure done.. that is the government . They have no incentive to give good service.. a big monopoly.
I listed the total HC expenditures. The point is to decrease this amount not to increase it.
Currently, to cover somebody older who is on Medicare via private insurance would cost a fortune, so there is that. Private insurance reimbursement rates are higher, private insurance overheads are 5-10 times higher, and there is also a profit built in.
Lastly, I'm not married to single payer type of solution. Swiss model is completely private insurance based but it works and HC represents much smaller fraction of their gdp. But, basic premium cost is controlled, also providers, etc.
you didn't answer if you would be willing to address this "issue" with a step (reforming medicare in steps) OR through a UBI
why not do the Crawl, walk, run model...instead of jump in feet first model?????
with the crawl, walk, run model you can analyze to cost and ways to address it...with the jump in feet first model, you could crash the economy
I don't think Universal Healthcare is achievable in the US. The costs are simply too high, it will cost too much to administer. There are too many actors in America committing insurance fraud already it will skyrocket.
You're stating that doctor supply needs to be manipulated by the government in certain situations, correct?
Not typically. But in some areas with poor doc coverage, there may be programs to encourage docs to practice there. Inner cities, very rural or Indian Reservations for example.
Thevfirst thing to do to lower medical costs is to cap the pay of doctors.
Doctors are not the problem, and their fees are more than reasonable.
You're just another that wants your own personal private slave doctor.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PedroMartinez
Teachers and firefighters are just as important, ....
And they're a dime-a-dozen.
Doesn't take a lot of skill to be a fire-fighter.
Teaching does require the teaching skill-set, but there are more people with the teaching skill-set than there are people with the doctor skill-set or the surgeon skill-set.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ottomobeale
There is NO reason that the US govt should be prohibited from negotiating drug prices.
The government is not prohibited, and the VA does negotiate prescription drug prices.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ottomobeale
There is NO reason the US consumer should pay 2X to 10X for a drug that someone in EVERY OTHER country pays.
Yes, there is a reason.
A drug costs $20, because that's what it costs.
The German government sets a price of $10, but that in no way, shape or form alters the fact that the drug still costs $20.
You pay $30 for a $20 drug because Germans are only paying $10, and someone has to make up the different in the price, and you were voted to do that.
Another way to put it is that Americans are subsidizing the cost of drugs in other countries.
If the US government attempted to negotiate drug prices for all Americans, the only thing that would happen is pharmaceutical companies would cease negotiating with all countries and then everyone on Earth would pay the true cost, or die.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ottomobeale
There is NO reason to allow monopolies to continue fixing prices
Actually, there is a reason: your State laws allow it.
Aside from Britain, Sweden, Portugal and Spain which are government monopolies, only US States allow monopolies. No other country does.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ottomobeale
There is NO reason to allow opaque pricing in everything medical
That's another State issue. As the US Supreme Court has stated repeatedly in different decisions, both medical care and insurance are intra-State commerce and Congress has no authority.
Doctors are not the problem, and their fees are more than reasonable.
You're just another that wants your own personal private slave doctor.
And they're a dime-a-dozen.
Doesn't take a lot of skill to be a fire-fighter.
Teaching does require the teaching skill-set, but there are more people with the teaching skill-set than there are people with the doctor skill-set or the surgeon skill-set.
The government is not prohibited, and the VA does negotiate prescription drug prices.
Yes, there is a reason.
A drug costs $20, because that's what it costs.
The German government sets a price of $10, but that in no way, shape or form alters the fact that the drug still costs $20.
You pay $30 for a $20 drug because Germans are only paying $10, and someone has to make up the different in the price, and you were voted to do that.
Another way to put it is that Americans are subsidizing the cost of drugs in other countries.
If the US government attempted to negotiate drug prices for all Americans, the only thing that would happen is pharmaceutical companies would cease negotiating with all countries and then everyone on Earth would pay the true cost, or die.
Actually, there is a reason: your State laws allow it.
Aside from Britain, Sweden, Portugal and Spain which are government monopolies, only US States allow monopolies. No other country does.
That's another State issue. As the US Supreme Court has stated repeatedly in different decisions, both medical care and insurance are intra-State commerce and Congress has no authority.
1. Depends.
2. No, there is a shortage at many places.
3. Medicare should be allowed to negotiate.
4. No. Well, ok, depends how you define "true cost".
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