Hello /biz/inessmen, I have a question! This board is the closest

File: CONCORD-table12.jpg (135KB, 1086x693px) Image search: [Google]

135KB, 1086x693px

>>1568641
>Why are healthcare costs so very high in the USA?
This is a bit of a myth. Regardless of what's printed on these invoices, you pay your deductible (if any) and insurance covers the rest. And I assure you that the insurance company only pays a fraction of what's listed on the invoice -- they negotiate massive price discounts because they have leverage.

Really, the only people who face out-of-control healthcare costs are people who refuse to get insurance. Not to be political, but this is why the Affordable Care Act is fundamentally good for America. The system assume that you have insurance, and the ACA helps make sure that's true. Refuse, and you might pay the price.

It's not perfect, but America doesn't want the government running their healthcare system (which is what would happen if you repeal Obamacare and try to start over). Private insurance serves the same role that the government serves in other country's systems.

Also, and this can't be overstated, heathcare is the U.S. is the best in the world. We pay more, but we get more. Better doctors, better facilities, and better results. Personally, I'm fine paying a little extra when it actually means better care.

>>1568641
>And why are drugs far more expensive than their European counterparts?
The US doesn't impose price controls on pharmaceuticals, and doesn't subsidise them. Where I live, Australia, the government buys drugs in bulk and caps the price at $38.30 (the govt pays the rest), if and only if the drugs are cost-effective. Canada imposes price controls as well.

> Why are healthcare costs so very high in the USA?
Healthcare is expensive because the government refuses to implement some form of universal healthcare system similar to what exists in pretty much every first-world nation in the world.

I'm sure that will trigger some /pol/iticians, but that's the truth of the matter.

>he doesn't have Obamacare

Lol enjoy being cucked

>>1568641
Short answer: doctors (among other medical staff) are overpaid as fuck in this country due to a high cost of education (both undergraduate and post-graduate level) which makes them feel as though they deserve a higher level of pay then what they actually deserve.

>>1568671
>Lol enjoy being cucked
Oh look, I was right, I did manage to trigger a /pol/itician

>>1568657
>US healthcare
>best in the world
Kek


Also, check my dubs

>>1568715
We have the one of the best healthcare systems in terms of QUALITY. Our tech is considered top of the line, our doctors are paid so well that there is a lot of pressure to do well.

It's the cost and inefficiency that makes our system awful. Quality means fuck all if it's unaffordable.

>>1568657
>Really, the only people who face out-of-control healthcare costs are people who refuse to get insurance.

Premiums fucking kill you though anon. While you are correct that the uninsured have to pay the full price for all care, you have to pay a fuckload of money in premiums. Not to mention, insurance does NOT cover ever expenditure. They get to decide what to pay for and what not to pay for, be it full or partially.

IIRC bar far the biggest cause of bankruptcy in America is healthcare related. Speaking from experience, my mother contracted lymphoma. We lost our house and have been living a hardscrabble life ever since, and her credit never really recovered.

because insurance gets to choose what they want to cover. part of it is because people can take advantage of them otherwise. broken system, but probably fixable

>>1568847
>Premiums fucking kill you though anon.
You're being small-minded. No one said healthcare was cheap, and you're going to pay for it one way or another. In the U.S., your pay premiums. In other countries, you pay higher taxes. But you pay either way.

>They get to decide what to pay for and what not to pay for, be it full or partially.
No, your insurance contract decides what they will pay for or not. I understand that its a horribly complex and confusing process, but its not arbitrary as you claim.

I'd like to see coverage become simplified too. That's exactly what the ACA did, too. Eliminated a lot of the "gotcha" provisions, like lifetime limits and pre-existing conditions. We've got a long way to go to improve the system, but we're on the right track.

Yes, medical expenses are the most common cause of personal bankruptcies. But its die to people being uninsured or under-insured. I'm sorry for your family's situation, but if you had simply paid for a reasonable insurance policy, it wouldn't have happened.

Bottom line: Too many people want the best healthcare possible, but bitch and whine when it comes time to pay for it. You can't have it both ways.

File: cost14.png (78KB, 998x662px) Image search: [Google]

78KB, 998x662px

>>1568657
>heathcare is the U.S. is the best in the world.
Bruh
>We pay more, but we get more.
This part is true though.

>>1569170
Life expectancy =//= healthcare. Too much lifestyle, genetics, and culture in there.

>>1568641

Well they are high because the goods/service is of a high value and the supply is low. Basic economics. You pay more for a diamond than a gallon of milk.

But they are higher than they should be, and here's why:

> fat people. Literally 2/3 of all medical costs in the USA are a result of obesity and sedentary lifestyle. So a vast majority of the money spent is on something easily preventable, and completely within a citizens power

> Medical management groups. These fat cats take a lot off the top

> Pharmaceutical companies. After spending hundreds of millions to make the drugs, their is no end to their greed when it comes time to sell the drugs

> Insurance companies. I don't care what the insurance shills say about how they have such low profit margins, its fucking bullshit. These giants make a shitload of money every year. Companies like progressive spend like $200 million a year on advertising. Just imagine the profits they must be making to justify such spending.

Sadly, the doctors and nurses don't really take home much of the loot.

>>1568641
Because america is the land of opportunity, Live here and get ripped off

Litigation plays a HUGE part in healthcare inflation.

America is possibly the most lawsuit happy country on earth. Our laws enable lawsuits for massive money, even for the slightest mistakes, or even if the doctor committed no malpractice.

Because of these laws, there has come into being an entire industry based around suing doctors; an industry with clout. This has had two detrimental effects on the american healthcare system.

First, these lawsuits, even the threat of them, is terrifying to doctors. Like I said, even if the doctor is innocent, he still must defend himself in court; trials can drag on for years and the costs of keeping lawyers working for you is massively expensive. And God help them if they are found guilty, because the compensation can run into millions of dollars.

These costs could have you living in a box. Because of the risk of litigation, doctors must take insurance policies to absorb the cost should they get sued. This insurance is NOT cheap, and the costs are passed onto the patients and medical insurance industry, massively inflating costs.

The second effect of the risk of litigation is that, in order to absolutely cover their asses in case of a lawsuit, doctors run FAR more tests than actually needed. They do this to decrease the risk of being accused or found guilty of malpractice. Many scans, blood work, constant tests: this is done to insulate the hospitals and medical professionals from lawsuits. Once again, the costs of all these extra tests are passed onto medical insurance companies and patients.

So if you really want to decrease the expenses of American health care, the malpractice laws need to be reformed. At least, it's a major step.

TL;DR: fear of lawsuits drive up medical costs and health care efficiency.

>>1569231
I see you're point, but are you willing to see the reverse? Some victim of negligence in a nationalized healthcare system has NO legal recourse because the government is his medical provider. That creates perverse incentives, and deprives victims of legitimate compensation.

There's two sides to every coin. I support rationale limits to litigation awards, but to blame the American legal system is to ignore the good it does.

>>1568641
>Tort and not subsidized by government
These are the only true answers on why the price is so high.

>how could we go about fixing the healthcare system
Tort reform, High deductible HSA /w tax write off for deductible, sale of insurance across state lines. Federal minimal of catastrophic / long term insurance only, and major diseases and cancer should be subsidized by government.

>>1568671
>Obamacare
MN Governor already admitted that it pretty much failed and that the state will have no providers for individual insurance by 2017 because of cost if nothing is changed.

>>1568715
>US healthcare
Is the best in terms survivability, recovery, specialist, and wait times. The reason nordic countries always win in the 'best healthcare' is price.

>>1568847
>biggest cause of bankruptcy in America
10 years of bad credit is way better than dying of cancer (especially treatable cancers)

>>1569231

Also this.

As someone who has a lawyer in the family, probably 50% of civil lawsuits are complete bullshit.

And of those 50% a third will settle with the plaintiff just to make them go away, instead of the cost of having to go to court.

Fucking lawyers.

>>1569367
>Fucking lawyers
Blaming lawyers for problems in the legal system is like blaming gold miners for the high price of gold.

>>1569221
>Life expectancy =//= healthcare. Too much lifestyle, genetics, and culture in there.
Right well regardless you fags spend 4x more than worst Korea on your 'best healthcare in the world' and still die younger. Is it worth it?