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About that "World's Best Healthcare System" the U.S. is supposed to have...

I would want to invest in Exxon just before Nacy Pelosi anounced the program. So would all her family members.
 
tjcmd said:
If the government tomorrow started paying with tax revenue 80% of the cost of all the petroleum products people over 65 wanted to buy, what would happen to the price of petroleum products? What might happen to Exxon profits?
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Young people would siphon the gas out of grandma's tank so she could go fill up again.
 
Mandatory executions start at what age?
 
Look, Townie. Unless you are a fool you have to be able to see that forcing one person to pay for some one else's health care absolutely has to increase costs far beyond what they would otherwise be.
 
tjcmd said:
Name one, just one so I can think about just that one.
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How much was an MRI in 1960? (1971)
How much was a liver transplant in 1960? (1963)
How much was effective chemotherapy in 1960? (1965)
How much was an effective artificial heart transplant in 1960? (1982)
How much was a metalic hip replacement in 1960? (1973)
How much was an effective ACL surgery in 1960? (1969)


Those are fairly expensive procedures/drugs that didn't f'ing exist in 1960.

That's six without even including obesity, an aging populace, and diabetes.
 
Is there a crickets emoticon?
 
TownieDeac said:
Not that I expect you could comprehend macroeconomic forces other than some abstract JACKBOOTED THUG GOVERNMENT but here are the HHS and nonpartisan report findings for drivers of health cost in the US:

1. Physician, facility and drug costs. Data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development have consistently showed the average unit costs for U.S. physicians, hospitals, facilities and drugs are the highest in the world.

ealth care costs are higher because doctor, hospital and drugs costs are higher. Duh. Not much here

2. Expensive technologies and procedures. When Americans do receive treatment, they often choose the most expensive technologies and procedures. For example, MRIs in the United States occur twice as often compared with the average country in OECD data.

If somebody else is paying for it, go right ahead and give me the most expensive stuff you have

3. Fragmented and uncoordinated care. Because care providers often treat the same patient with little consultation, unnecessary care, errors and dissatisfaction proliferates.

Government people do not coordinate health care better than people who are not in the government. Look at th3e VA

4. Lack of cost consideration from patients. There is an assumption among patients that the most expensive care leads to the best quality, but expensive care has no correlation with quality. Patients have limited capabilities to participate in the cost decision making process of their care.

Don't consider cost much if someone else is being forced to pay for it.

5. Fee-for-service. Hospitals and physicians are reimbursed for every service they provide, which often leads to a focus on volumes instead of a focus on care.

DRGs

6. High administrative expenses. The morass of health insurers and billing processes cost the U.S. healthcare system billions in wasted costs every year.

Crony capitalists making tons of money. Of course, they write the laws and regulations. See ACA

7. Unhealthy behaviors. Chronic illnesses — like heart disease, cancer and diabetes — cause about 70 percent of all deaths in the United States, and they are the most expensive to treat. A majority of chronic illnesses stem from unhealthy behaviors

Force people to live healthy. Tell that them that if they do not they will die.

8. Expensive end-of-life care. The last year of an American's life is the most expensive for medical treatment, and the unnecessary procedures and repeated hospitalizations provide little value to the patient and the system at large.

If somebody else is forced to pay for it, why not keep grandma on machines another month?

9. Provider consolidation. Hospitals and health systems are merging and acquiring each other at a feverish pace, and the same goes for physician groups. Studies have shown that although provider consolidation leads to some economies of scale, the increased market power leads to higher prices and oligopolistic behaviors.

After paying like crazy for years, Medicare now is squeezing providers and causing them to canibalize one another.



Guess what? They're all deregulated fucking market forces, you dipshit.

Health care is far more regulated now than ever
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Here is a rational look at a few things wrong with health care:

 
ONW said:
"Obamacare To Cost Far Less Than Estimated, Budget Office Says"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/...ed_n_6554174.html?ncid=tweetlnkushpmg00000067
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A report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said insurance coverage would cost $964 billion from 2015 to 2024, $68 billion below its April 2014 projection, due to factors including lower than expected enrollment in federal and state insurance exchanges set up under the Affordable Care Act.

There have also been republican cuts to the risk corridor and CSR program which are deflating total costs. Im not sure how much of this is related to it actually working as a means to control costs.
 
Here's another little gem: the bill allows the NIH Director to outsource the administration of the prize competition to a private company, who can take 15% of the money for itself. Was a private contractor involved in writing this bill? I’m guessing some company is already making plans to siphon off precious research funds running these competitions–and I wouldn't be surprised if they had a hand in drafting the bill.
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sigh
 
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