The Economics of Healthcare: Crash Course Econ #29
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Date: 2022-04-04
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Comments and reviews: 10
Stalfos
You guys are failing to address the real reason healthcare is so expensive in the US. It is because the healthcare providers (the hospitals and doctors and pharmacies) know that the government will give them whatever they say the price is. Over 35% of Americans are on Medicaid or Medicare. Those are the people that will use it the most because they don't have to pay for it. So the providers will end up making much more keeping the prices double or triple the amount of what is resonable because the government won't haggle to bring the price down. Now the private health insurances have to be more expensive in order to stay in business because the healthcare providers (the hospitals and pharmacies) never lower their prices because they know that with combination of the patients that can afford expensive insurance and the constant flow of socialized health insurance (Medicare/Medicaid) they will make more of a profit continuing to have them overpay. The solution would be to defund Medicare and Medicaid. Stop the constant flow of taxpayer dollars to the healthcare providers, and the free market will naturally bring down the prices. Competition would kick in and other health care businesses would be created, health insurance would go way down, and everyone would end up winning.
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You guys are failing to address the real reason healthcare is so expensive in the US. It is because the healthcare providers (the hospitals and doctors and pharmacies) know that the government will give them whatever they say the price is. Over 35% of Americans are on Medicaid or Medicare. Those are the people that will use it the most because they don't have to pay for it. So the providers will end up making much more keeping the prices double or triple the amount of what is resonable because the government won't haggle to bring the price down. Now the private health insurances have to be more expensive in order to stay in business because the healthcare providers (the hospitals and pharmacies) never lower their prices because they know that with combination of the patients that can afford expensive insurance and the constant flow of socialized health insurance (Medicare/Medicaid) they will make more of a profit continuing to have them overpay. The solution would be to defund Medicare and Medicaid. Stop the constant flow of taxpayer dollars to the healthcare providers, and the free market will naturally bring down the prices. Competition would kick in and other health care businesses would be created, health insurance would go way down, and everyone would end up winning.
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160p2GHz
Re like 5: 30. I really wish I could get it through politicians heads that I do not want to spend any more time in a hospital than I need to. I under consume. And when I had free or low cost health care the only difference was I went to my regular check ups. My mother is a hypochondriac with good insurance and she does go a lot, but the frequency isn't going to increase if she doesn't pay for it. She's not driven by cost, she's driven by a need for attention and wanting to be special. What's more, every time I've been fleeced in a hospital, it's been when I was in very serious condition and a (usually private) hospital has decided to just run a bunch of tests without good reason. It would be really nice if when I cannot give coherent consent, I did not have to worry about someone giving me a CAT scan I'm not insured for for no good reason (and yes I know doctors often do things in my interest but I have at least one example of being given a CAT scan for food poisoning.
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Re like 5: 30. I really wish I could get it through politicians heads that I do not want to spend any more time in a hospital than I need to. I under consume. And when I had free or low cost health care the only difference was I went to my regular check ups. My mother is a hypochondriac with good insurance and she does go a lot, but the frequency isn't going to increase if she doesn't pay for it. She's not driven by cost, she's driven by a need for attention and wanting to be special. What's more, every time I've been fleeced in a hospital, it's been when I was in very serious condition and a (usually private) hospital has decided to just run a bunch of tests without good reason. It would be really nice if when I cannot give coherent consent, I did not have to worry about someone giving me a CAT scan I'm not insured for for no good reason (and yes I know doctors often do things in my interest but I have at least one example of being given a CAT scan for food poisoning.
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jericho005
Uhhh -. there is a small single payer system for the military called the VA and it's just for veterans. - you might want to do a little research. The VA covers about as many people as live in Sweden. It's the second largest department of the federal government (behind Defense) and unfortunately, it sucks, even though it's wildly expensive. Wait times are incredibly long for the VA. To remedy this, the VA budget has roughly doubled since 2009 but waiting times have actually gone up! The reason I bring it up is that this is the way WE do single payer here in the United States. The VA would cover many more people, except that people don't typically use it, even if they are entitled, because it sucks so badly. My opinion is that we should fix the VA, before we even think about -Medicare for All- which is really -VA for All. -
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Uhhh -. there is a small single payer system for the military called the VA and it's just for veterans. - you might want to do a little research. The VA covers about as many people as live in Sweden. It's the second largest department of the federal government (behind Defense) and unfortunately, it sucks, even though it's wildly expensive. Wait times are incredibly long for the VA. To remedy this, the VA budget has roughly doubled since 2009 but waiting times have actually gone up! The reason I bring it up is that this is the way WE do single payer here in the United States. The VA would cover many more people, except that people don't typically use it, even if they are entitled, because it sucks so badly. My opinion is that we should fix the VA, before we even think about -Medicare for All- which is really -VA for All. -
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Theodore
Even when it is not an emergency, it is almost impossible to shop around for health care. Hospitals are under no requirements to give you a good faith cost estimate, and even when they are you usually have to request it, which goes against typical human behavior. Further even when you do your best to price out procedures. You can still be hit by suprise billing, even you you go to an in network hospital. For example when the anesthesiologist is out of network at an in network hospital.
Healthcare has no transparency, and there is no competition driving down costs and increasing quality. We can just look at LASIK to see what happens when prices are advertised and publicly known. Prices have gone down, while quality has gone up.
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Even when it is not an emergency, it is almost impossible to shop around for health care. Hospitals are under no requirements to give you a good faith cost estimate, and even when they are you usually have to request it, which goes against typical human behavior. Further even when you do your best to price out procedures. You can still be hit by suprise billing, even you you go to an in network hospital. For example when the anesthesiologist is out of network at an in network hospital.
Healthcare has no transparency, and there is no competition driving down costs and increasing quality. We can just look at LASIK to see what happens when prices are advertised and publicly known. Prices have gone down, while quality has gone up.
reply
160p2GHz
Maaan the too early to tell on the Affordable Care Act comment. when this video came out I was on ACA. Two months after this video came out I had a stroke, at 30 (I'm in great health it was just a freak injury that caused it. I am so so grateful I was able to get proper healthcare and afford the follow up to make sure I didn't have another. No way I could have afforded the two hour ambulance ride from my local hospital to the specialist hospital without insurance or probably even with the employer insurance I have now. Just an anecdote but I may well owe my life to ACA.
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Maaan the too early to tell on the Affordable Care Act comment. when this video came out I was on ACA. Two months after this video came out I had a stroke, at 30 (I'm in great health it was just a freak injury that caused it. I am so so grateful I was able to get proper healthcare and afford the follow up to make sure I didn't have another. No way I could have afforded the two hour ambulance ride from my local hospital to the specialist hospital without insurance or probably even with the employer insurance I have now. Just an anecdote but I may well owe my life to ACA.
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The
Original Medicare (parts A & B) doesn-t pay for all the healthcare of seniors. It only pays 80% and that doesn-t include all medical services, only some (and excludes all dental, vision and prescription. 20% of a medical bill is still a LOT for the average American senior (think about if its 20% of a hospital stay which could be 10-s of thousands of dollars. And they still do have to pay the part b premium currently $144 every month. They-re not really getting a good deal.
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Original Medicare (parts A & B) doesn-t pay for all the healthcare of seniors. It only pays 80% and that doesn-t include all medical services, only some (and excludes all dental, vision and prescription. 20% of a medical bill is still a LOT for the average American senior (think about if its 20% of a hospital stay which could be 10-s of thousands of dollars. And they still do have to pay the part b premium currently $144 every month. They-re not really getting a good deal.
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Carmie
Another important consideration is the mixture of a for-profit system, that is also heavily subsidized. When the majority of healthcare dollars flowing through the system are from the government, the normal market forces that control costs in other industries, are essentially disabled. Add to that the tax incentives to employers to provide health insurance for employees, and that removes the consumer from the market even further.
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Another important consideration is the mixture of a for-profit system, that is also heavily subsidized. When the majority of healthcare dollars flowing through the system are from the government, the normal market forces that control costs in other industries, are essentially disabled. Add to that the tax incentives to employers to provide health insurance for employees, and that removes the consumer from the market even further.
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Kialala
Never in my life have I expected to hear -shop- -hospital- and -heart attack- in the same sentence. And yet here we are, we shop for hospitals, we compare doctors profile, if this is not capitalism and consumerism giving you the illusion of control and choices while sh--tting on the last ditch of dignity that health and life are supposed to carry. Pfffff Murica
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Never in my life have I expected to hear -shop- -hospital- and -heart attack- in the same sentence. And yet here we are, we shop for hospitals, we compare doctors profile, if this is not capitalism and consumerism giving you the illusion of control and choices while sh--tting on the last ditch of dignity that health and life are supposed to carry. Pfffff Murica
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Freddie
in 3: 36 what she mentions happens also to people with insurance, I have never been in the hospital or seen docs other than when sick, hurt myself and have 8000 dollars in medical debt, deductible. that's screwed up 20 years x 400 month = 96000 with no pay outs and one visit and I owe?
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in 3: 36 what she mentions happens also to people with insurance, I have never been in the hospital or seen docs other than when sick, hurt myself and have 8000 dollars in medical debt, deductible. that's screwed up 20 years x 400 month = 96000 with no pay outs and one visit and I owe?
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Andrew
Part of the problem with the expense of the US health system is that every interaction / transaction with it is done on a retail / cost plus. no matter who is paying for the service there is someone who is -clipping the ticket-. making a profit!
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Part of the problem with the expense of the US health system is that every interaction / transaction with it is done on a retail / cost plus. no matter who is paying for the service there is someone who is -clipping the ticket-. making a profit!
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