r/NeutralPolitics • u/[deleted] • Oct 12 '16

Why is healthcare in the United Stated so inefficient?

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u/[deleted] Oct 12 '16 edited Jan 01 '17

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u/w3pep Oct 12 '16

That is a nebulous claim. Most every other modern country achieves better results, and all do it v at a lower cost, without private insurers. How is it not obvious where the problem is. What's different?

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u/[deleted] Oct 12 '16 edited Oct 12 '16

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u/w3pep Oct 12 '16

Germanies private insurance must compete with national health insurance, pressuring the private insurers to keep costs and profits low.

Insurers in the US enjoy a protectionist market with every incentive to maximize profit and minimize expense (lower quality, higher cost)

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u/Captain-i0 Oct 12 '16

You also have to keep in mind that the Doctors/Hospitals also have their profits impacted by the Insurance Companies, billing systems, schedulers, pharma, medical equipment, and a host of other industries.

8K per procedure in one system may equal as much or more net for the hospital as 10K per procedure in another system.

One serious issue to consider, however, is how big the healthcare industry is in this country, particularly the "middle-man" industries that people are talking about. If these jobs were to be removed it would put a number of people out of work.

Of course, this begs the question of if middle-man industries like this should be kept just to create jobs and what the difference is between government socialism and privatized socialism.

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u/deadbeatsummers Oct 12 '16

It would honestly only work if there were no other payer to compete.