How exactly do we decrease health care costs?
Posted by Dolores
CONvict Shrubya asked:
I’ve seen this as a criticism, usually by republicans, of the insurance reform concept that dominates the House and Senate bills. They claim that the bills do nothing to actually address the costs of health care.
I’ve seen this as a criticism, usually by republicans, of the insurance reform concept that dominates the House and Senate bills. They claim that the bills do nothing to actually address the costs of health care.
Okay, fair enough. So how do we actually decrease costs?
Focus on preventative medicine? How is that paid for?
Price controls?
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March 31st, 2010 at 2:03 am
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Get the government out of healthcare. Only true free market competition will put pressure on providers and force them to lower their costs to remain in business. Also change the tax code to allow individuals to deduct all health care costs from their taxes.
April 3rd, 2010 at 5:35 am
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A big part of the problem is drugs costs. Those need to come way down. There’s no reason for them to be that high in this country. It’s all markup done by greedy US pharma corps.
April 6th, 2010 at 3:25 pm
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Frivolous lawsuit demise … and eliminating fraud (ie gov’t workers doing their actual job they are paid to do)
April 8th, 2010 at 9:35 am
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talk to western europe we’ve been doing it for 50+ years
April 8th, 2010 at 1:00 pm
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State lines have been destroyed in every single respect. Why not destroy them when it comes to health insurance policies? How about giving tort reform a try on a national level? How about allowing groups that aren’t large employers start their own co-ops without the government being involved? How about tax incentives for doctors who are willing to work bro bona for low income patients?
There are a million things that one could do before having the government overhaul the system?
April 11th, 2010 at 12:33 pm
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The Dems already have a plan for that……………Death Panels.
April 12th, 2010 at 4:35 pm
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By taking away the profit motive.No one ,no business should exist that profits from your health care decisions are lack thereof.
April 14th, 2010 at 2:03 pm
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The only democratic way to lower the costs is by providing a public option. That is why it was essential. In all other countries that spend half on health care per capita than we do, the Public option is an integral part of the competition.
People who propose a free market for health care forget that people are willing to spend any amount of money to save their lives. Thats exactly why the costs in America is so high to begin with.
Health care shouldn’t be treated as a for profit enterprise simply because we are all willing to give all we have for health. Its robbery disguised as capitalism.
April 16th, 2010 at 6:09 am
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Reform the Hospitals with making people go through the emergency room for simple treatments. All hospitals should provide small medical clinics 24 hours a day.
April 18th, 2010 at 10:08 pm
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Get the government, lawyers and insurance companies out of health care and allow the market to drive down prices. 50 years ago you could get a doctor to make a house call and pay him from your wallet. Everyone one had EMERGENCY health insurance for hospital visits. Since the insurance companies created HMO’s and the government stuck their nose deeper into healthcare with more regulation the price of healthcare has outpaced inflation.
GOVERNMENT REGULATION INCREASES PRICES!!!!!!!!!!!!! It always has….
April 19th, 2010 at 11:56 am
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assuming you mean medical treatment rather than insurance , tort reform and lower malpractice costs for doctors would lower health care costs.
My friend who is in private practice pays over 150k a year for malpractice even though in 18 years he has never had a claim.
April 22nd, 2010 at 10:32 pm
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How about letting that up to the individual. If he wants to decrease healthcare costs, then he should eat and drink more healthy substances. If he chooses not to change his lifestyle, then why is it right to force another citizen to pay his bills.
And another thing, reform tort reform. All those idiotic court settlements add greatly to the cost of healthcare. And drop the bariers between states. These are thing congress can do that will have real savings.Buit why it is nopt popular is they will lose control of their grip on power.That health bill is about the politicians and their desire forpower.
April 24th, 2010 at 1:21 pm
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First off, identify extraneous costs and eliminate them. If other countries can expand healthcare to a larger base of citizens for a lesser cost, then this must be possible and we’ve done it wrong.
Extraneous costs: over-testing as a hedge against malpractice, un-checked insurance premium increases due to health care monopolies not having to compete.
Those two need to be eliminated, you do that with tort reform, and by breaking up the regional monopolies (and similarly removing the anti-trust exemption from health insurance companies).
This health care bill we have in congress has it all wrong. Forcing everyone to buy insurance won’t reduce costs if the insurance companies still don’t compete. It’s just more money for them, and I am not confident that they will use it to strengthen their business model, they will use it to line their pockets. Their is no incentive whatsoever in the health care bill for health insurance companies to give Americans a better deal. That’s the bottom line, that’s why this bill is not reform and why it won’t work.
April 26th, 2010 at 6:44 pm
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What we need to do is put the American consumer back in the drivers seat. Remove anything that gets between the consumer and his bill (government and insurance). Large scale insurance only serves to do one thing: increase costs. Think about it - does the insurance company actually care how much a procedure costs? They get thousands of claims a day - they can’t investigate them for over billing or fraud. Look at auto insurance: How much does an oil change cost? $30 or $40 right? Why does it all the sudden cost $3000, $4000 or more when you get in an small accident? Because the insurance company is paying for it, not you - and so the mechanics take their time. They overcharge the insurance company to make up for losses elsewhere - and any number of other things because they know you don’t care and the insurance company isn’t watching.
We need to put the bill back in the hands of the American consumer - because when you see your own money going out the door, then you are more inclined to question the expenses and only do whats in your best interest (not the myriad of tests the doctors want to cover their malpractice requirements).
Remove government regulations and health insurance should be for catastrophic events - like heart attacks and the such. Not for every little time you scrape your knee or have a cough.
April 28th, 2010 at 12:43 am
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Eliminate health insurance companies.
They are nothing but middlemen that provide nothing.
They make a profit from health care that shouldn’t even be there.
Clamp down on hospitals, doctors, and all health care providers.
Why anyone would defend health insurance companies is beyond me.
They deny health care insurance to selected groups of people while trying to sign up only those that are a minimum risk.
Pre-existing conditions are the biggest pile of BS there ever was. So if you are healthy and have no history of health problems, the insurance companies want your business but if you really need care, then you are denied.
April 28th, 2010 at 4:13 am
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This insurance reform increases cost.
Changes needed:
A) Eliminate the tax deduction for Employers.
B) Make all insurance individual - pick your level of coverage
Then insured individuals will be forced to watch their costs. Insured individuals never ask how much. They just ask if it is covered. They are spending someone else’s money so it doesn’t matter to them.
This way it makes everything fair and removes the cost from employers. It also removes favoritism by our government to corporations and penalties against individuals.
April 29th, 2010 at 1:53 am
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educating the public on moderation. Moderating ones diet to a healthy one. Focusing on that type of preventative care should cut down the costs. Because most of the health problems people are having comes from shoving unhealthy foods and drinks down their throat. Not saying everyone should turn in a greenie, or a veggie head, but a little moderation and healthy eating goes a long way. Also a tax on every pre packaged consumer foods with low nutrition value would help out a lot.
May 1st, 2010 at 11:53 pm
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Much of the cost of health care in America is directly related to government regulation and over sight. Doctors and hospitals are required to have huge administrative staffs dedicated soley to responding to such government involvement. Then, too, a significant cost is contributed to by frivolous law suits and the resulting malpractice insurance that doctors and hospitals are required to carry. Did you know that there are many hospitals in the U.S. that no longer have emergency rooms because they cannot afford the insurance required to support them? And that is not the fault of the ‘evil insurance companies’ who we have recently learned are not rolling in the dough, it is the fault of lawyers and their frivolous law suits. You get rid of or control of government over regulation and these absurd law suits and you’ll significantly reduce the cost of health care.
There are a number of other things we can do and it wouldn’t cost the government one, single, solitary, gosh darned dime.
But back to you, if you believe we’re wrong, what HAS this bill done to ‘reduce the cost of health care’ other than shift that cost to the government, which does not reduce it or mandate that a procedure that costs the doctor $100 to perform will now only be paid for at a rate of $90. How long do you think a doctor will perform a $100 procedure for $90? Are you folks honestly that ignorant? Doctors are already turning away Medicare patients because they cannot afford to treat them. Is that because the doctors are greedy or…wait for it…is there actually a cost to the providing of medicine and medical care that we should be addressing? Have YOU actually tried to find out why medical care costs so much? I doubt it. But the problem is, neither did your congress.
May 2nd, 2010 at 4:58 pm
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You got it !! — PREVENTIVE MEDICINE
I investigated Medicaid Fraud for 28 years and saw untold numbers of Medicaid Recipients who viewed a Medicaid card as a personal credit card from the government so they never bothered to seek medical care until as one woman once told me Honey…. I don’t go to the Doctor until gangrene sets in
If you mandate that in order to continue to receive health insurance benefits people must make routine visits for routine exams routine tests routine innoculations and then follow up on any problematic symptoms…that would reduce health care costs.
May 4th, 2010 at 2:44 pm
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Removing the special protections from antitrust legislation the insurance industry enjoys would be a good first step.
Opening them up to laws suits when they deny coverage illegally would be another good step.
Currently they enjoy a high degree of immunity from prosecution, and that leads to abuses of their clients.
The biggest cost in your system is the administration fees the insurance companies charge. Even the nonprofit health insurers **** up most of the money through office charges.
May 4th, 2010 at 6:12 pm
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Most of the cost in health care today is malpractice insurance. Wanna lower prices? Place realistic restrictions on the amount that people are allowed to sue for when their doc messes up. Doctors are only human, therefore they are not perfect. They are going to make mistakes from time to time. This is a risk that you knowingly accept when you CHOOSE to visit the doctor! If you are unwilling to accept that risk, don’t go to the doctors. Take your chances on your own I say.
May 6th, 2010 at 9:48 pm
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Mathew Homeless in Phoenix, 2010 (haha).
I agree, the American people do need to be put in the drivers seat as Mathew indicated. And yes, history has shown us what Homeless has said: when then the gov’t hands gets on something, prices increase excessively.
The market will be able to decrease prices, I totally agree.