Quote:It's a complex issue for sure. I think the problem is largely in the cost of the healthcare itself. $1000 for an aspirin ect ect. I think a large portion of why the costs are out of control is that we use insurance to pay for everything. Insurance as a concept, is supposed to be to cover the unexpected and things that would be too expensive to budget for but by spreading the risk over a large pool of people, it becomes manageable. When insurance pays for everything, it distorts the prices of things. Instead of making a choice about whether you have x or y done, you get everything done because the insurance is paying, so there is no natural price control set by limits on the demand, that causes prices to explode. 

 

Why is more expensive for my family members to use their insurance to get some medications than to just pay $4 out of pocket and not use the insurance? See, that seems like a scam to me? What price is it really when the insurance pays?

 

If you look at some things that insurance does not cover, that you pay out of pocket for, those prices often come down a lot. Take LASIK, that used to thousands and thousands of dollars, now you can get that done for about 300 dollars an eye in many places. 

 

I don't have all the answers to this mess but I think many people need insurance that covers what they actually need and not what they don't. I'm a pretty young guy and in good health, I don't need the same plan as a 55 year old with hypertension and diabetes. I just need a plan that covers me if I get cancer or something. I don't need every bell and whistle, every hangnail covered by my insurance. If we stopped using insurance to cover trivial crap like that, the prices on that trivial stuff should come down a lot. 

 

Tort reform would also make a lot of sense. I wonder how much of the cost of medicine is there simply because of frivolous law suits and people who got care but could not pay the bill or illegals who don't belong here in the first place. 

Good feedback, thanks. I think cost control is a very important issue, and agree that there is a risk of overuse due to not having an immediate hit in the wallet. Regarding malpractice, I have read that it accounts for about 1/3 of 1% of the cost of healthcare. While every billion here and there add up, I am not sure it is a primary driver in the cost. Also, I think that figure does not count defensive medicine, which adds a few percent to the cost. From what I recall, some countries have laws in place that limit liability if doctors are performing the generally accepted treatment and are not grossly negligent. Seems pretty reasonable to me.

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