NYT Editorial - The High Cost of Health Care

Mr. Bill · 11-26-2007, 06:35 AM

Okay, so it is insurance-related but a lengthy op-ed piece nonetheless...

The High Cost of Health Care - New York Times

Mr. Bill · 11-26-2007, 06:39 AM

Oh, you will also notice that the "author" dismisses malpractice/litigation as relatively irrelevant.

How about let's all ask John Edwards how irrelevant it is???

JMO Fan · 11-26-2007, 11:19 AM

Punitive damages should be 100% awarded to the general revenue fund of the state (or USA if federal court). That would eliminate the perverse lottery mentality of attorneys & plaintiffs. Compensatory damages suffice for the injured.

The only true solution is personal responsibility, which is impossible to legislate -- but mandated coverage helps. Massachusetts is still hampered by those who see the fines for failure to buy insurance as too low to get them to buy coverage. (Next year's increased fines in MA will get a few more to apply.) They still expect others to pay for their emergency room visits and unpaid doctor bills.

somarco · 11-26-2007, 03:05 PM

Health care inflation is multi-faceted. You can point your finger in any number of directions, including the carriers for introducing (and even encouraging) low deductible, copay plans.

One of the main issues is demand outstrips supply . . . caused to an extent by copay plans.

Add in CYA redundant testing, med mal premiums, DTC advertising, docs overprescribing, cost shifting . . . the list is almost endless.

JMO Fan · 11-26-2007, 03:35 PM

One big demand driver is the large proportion of Americans whose health care has been paid for by somebody else, e.g., employers. This has protected people from learning the true cost, so we naturally demand the "best" care (meaning "most expensive" without regard to its efficacy). It shocks most to learn that "standard, basic family care" is unaffordable to any household earning less than six figures.