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I think part of what's ment here is that since many people don't know what the true cost for certain medical procedures or services are they are less likely to shop around for the better priced services.
Sort of funny.
You get a pain in your chest and a little numbness down the arm, I doubt that you are going to get on the phone to request quotes.
Secondly, without a diagnosis how are you going to get a quote in the first place, of course the diagnosis (I recently had this false alarm happen to me) will cost upwards to $35,000 (actual bill) just to find out that they couldn't find out.
Of course if I had known that this would have been the outcome, I would have waited for several doctors to submit their quotes, of course I might have been better served calling around to funeral homes.
Which is all to say, the demand side of the equation for healthcare isn't anything like the demand side for other commodities. Sure, for things like breast implants, knee replacements, etc., one can utilize basic market principles but for the most part it ain't like getting your car fixed.
As far as shopping around for medical services/proceduers for the best price. That's not about immediate emergancies like gun shots,car accidents,stitches etc but about non emergancy services like the various medical tests,check ups,vaccinations and other medical procedures that are needed but not an immediate emergancy.
With insurance are people taking into account how much something actually cost?
Health insurance has been marketed just as you would buy popcorn from the movies for years now, and was very successful right up until HMOs and other bureaucratic processes entered the fray. Incidentally, you purchase car insurance that covers your body in the event of an accident, not just the property cost. Competition is high and prices are low, relatively speaking.
You are apparently too young to remember that HMOs were introduced as "health reform" back in the early 80s. The only people for whom health insurance was successful, other than the stockholders of the ins. companies, were the people who didn't need health ins. in the first place.
Yes, your car ins. will cover some of your medical expenses. Then they will promptly raise your rate.
Yes, your car ins. will cover some of your medical expenses. Then they will promptly raise your rate.
Well duh. If you are at a higher risk for getting into an accident...there is also one company that has accident forgiveness even if it's your own fault (not advertising them). That's called competition. Check it out sometime.
5. We also need to rethink medical licensing laws to encourage greater competition among providers. Nurse practitioners, physician assistants, midwives, and other non-physician practitioners should have far greater ability to treat patients. Doctors and other health professionals should be able to take their licenses from state to state. We should also be encouraging innovations in delivery such as medical clinics in retail outlets.
This one is a real pain, every time my sister changes states, she has to reapply for a license so she can practice medicine in that state.
They covered a lot of good ideas in that link, but they left out medical liability reform, or TORT reform, and the insane tuition costs that leave a doctor with up to $200,000 in student loans.
Well duh. If you are at a higher risk for getting into an accident...there is also one company that has accident forgiveness even if it's your own fault (not advertising them). That's called competition. Check it out sometime.
That is not what I meant. Any accident you have will raise your rates. Some companies give "good drivers" one accident w/o raising the rates.
Don't be snide, summers73. It will get you in trouble.
The following link takes you to a radio episode of This American Life that discusses various aspects of the health care industry. The lack of a common standard of procedure codes (first 5 minutes of broadcast) among the big health insurers and its affect on doctors and healthcare costs is very interesting.
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