re: How do we lower the cost of health-care so that the quality doesn't fall ?

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How do we lower the cost of health-care so that the quality doesn't fall ?

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Rationing. That is, you can reduce the quantity. There might be some other tweaks (better negotiations for prescription drugs, etc), but there is no magic bullet.

You can get the latest, greatest healthcare but it will cost you. Or you can add waiting lists.

Americans want the best and they want it now. That's the #2 reason our system costs so much.

#1 is that we are a bunch of fatties.

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What a dumb data point. The government dumped billions of new dollars (on top of billions of Medicare and Medicaid and Vet dollars) into the healthcare system.

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Actually, the point is quite valid. Even prior to Covid, healthcare costs as a percentage of GDP were rising. It was about 19% of GDP in 2019--before Covid.

There’s no solution to health care prices. Only trade offs.

HSA / Catastrophe type insurance where everyone has some skin in the game.

Detach health insurance from Employment.

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Eliminate admin costs.

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Stop electing republicans who torpedo every attempt to fix the system and claim that they have a much better plan, only to come up with zero when they're in power.

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Sounds like you are looking for a handout.

What a bum.

whatever happened to the whole thing about posting prices for things at the hospital? I mean it seems to me NO ONE ever knows how much something is going to cost. I had finger surgery and I asked 30 times before the surgery how much it was going to cost. they told me x. I said fine. here's x. and then a week after it's done, here's a bill for y. yeah. x is how much it costs if you don't include anathesia, and a hour long recovery window, and blah and blah. and I'm like. wtf. when someone asks how much something is going to cost you have to be able to tell them. that's a huge factor in a lot of regular people's decisions.

that surgery plus an ablation I've had in the past 5 years ended up costing about 6k more than I was told.

We could ban medicaid patients from using the E.R. as their doctor's office. We had one woman come into ER with the complaint: 'My hairs hurt.'

They don't care because they pay nothing.

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That sounds like the gubment interceding upon the free market, you marxist!

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I just laugh when I think about the price gouging signs that retailers had to have up during the lockdowns. But freaking hospitals charge outrageous sums of money for mundane items we can buy at a 7-11. If I were to go to Costco and buy the 360ct advil bottle for $17 I could resell that for $6,750 at the rate the hospitals charge. But they're heroes so they can get away with anything...

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We should be going the exact opposite direction. Look at the healthcare practices that are outside heavy gov't regulation and Medicaid or Medicare like lasik eye surgery or dental. Those service and innovation go up while costs go down or remain flat. Why? No burdensome regulation and price competition.

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My woman from my church did a slip and fall on the slick floor at a mall and knocked out her two "buck" front teeth, the two ones right there in the middle.

Cost her 18,000 to replace with a cash discount.

So I have no idea how you can say dental is cheap. There are plenty of people walking around with no teeth because they can't afford implants or dentures.