Lately, I have been thinking a lot about health insurance and health care and thinking about why the costs have risen so much over the past few decades. Something that stands out is the fact that in a market economy we rarely see constant increases in prices while service stays the same or decreases. Also things that have more government interference seem to not to have “real” low prices. By real low prices as in the true not subsidized cost. For instance, computers over the past 20 years have got cheaper and much more powerful yet there is almost no regulation as to the size of computers, the processing power, the price, etc. If healthcare was truly market place prices would fall over time and quality would increase.
One problem is that we have third parties (either insurance companies or government agencies) paying the costs. Individuals have little to no incentive to care about prices when someone else is picking up the tab. If I go out with someone to a restaurant and they let me know they are picking up the tab I might decide to order differently than if I had to pick up the tab. People often complain about the high costs of medical treatment or care yet they don’t have the vaguest idea of why prices are high. Doctors for instance are regulated by the AMA (American Medical Association) and it illegal to practice as a doctor unless you are licensed by the state. I really don’t understand this considering many nurses or other health professionals could take care of minor illnesses people have and one could possibly make the argument that doctors might be overqualified sometimes to treat patients. Letting more people practice medicine wouldn’t be a bad idea. Also given how much information there is online people sometimes research to see what they have even before they go to their doctor. Individuals have a much larger incentive to care about their own health/life than anyone else. Doctor’s I hear sometimes use the internet while people are changing to figure out what the diagnosis is. I wrote in an earlier blog about the time wasted on just filling prescriptions. Although, I don’t ever see the FDA being abolished I would be perfectly okay with more prescribed drugs transitioning to over the counter. For instance, I really don’t understand why someone would argue against not putting some relatively harmless drugs in Walgreens or CVS. People then say “Well we can’t trust people with drugs!”.This assumes people don’t already abuse over the counter drugs which they do. Aspirin is commonly used yet taking one too many can lead someone to serious medical problems yet it’s over the counter. Allowing prescriptions to transition from behind the counter to over the counter is a no brainer since patients today are more informed than ever before and it would free up useless “prescription visits” when doctors could be using their time in productive ways and potentially be saving more lives.
It is also pointless to have laws that bar individuals to buy medical insurance across state lines. The insurance industry is so highly regulated the few new companies can enter the market due to barriers of entry. In the technology world companies new companies are popping up all the time. Although, not all these companies will be successes the idea is to let consumers vote with their dollars.
I love when how people talk about how everyone deserves healthcare as if it is a right. With the ObamaCare mandate decision due to come out this fall in the Supreme Court we will see if the government can in fact require people to purchase something. Even if we were to magically waive a wand and grant everyone healthcare it doesn’t mean that health outcomes improve. I could have healthcare but still not work out, eat the wrong foods, and not get enough sleep. How does merely having healthcare improve outcome?
The medical insurance market really isn’t a market. Medical insurance covers everything (even just visiting a doctor). An analogy for car insurance would be only making a co pay when you have your oil change. The idea of insurance is to pay for catastrophic things and not cover every single item. Car insurance does not protect consumers against buying the wrong color car or gas prices.
One problem is that we have third parties (either insurance companies or government agencies) paying the costs. Individuals have little to no incentive to care about prices when someone else is picking up the tab. If I go out with someone to a restaurant and they let me know they are picking up the tab I might decide to order differently than if I had to pick up the tab. People often complain about the high costs of medical treatment or care yet they don’t have the vaguest idea of why prices are high. Doctors for instance are regulated by the AMA (American Medical Association) and it illegal to practice as a doctor unless you are licensed by the state. I really don’t understand this considering many nurses or other health professionals could take care of minor illnesses people have and one could possibly make the argument that doctors might be overqualified sometimes to treat patients. Letting more people practice medicine wouldn’t be a bad idea. Also given how much information there is online people sometimes research to see what they have even before they go to their doctor. Individuals have a much larger incentive to care about their own health/life than anyone else. Doctor’s I hear sometimes use the internet while people are changing to figure out what the diagnosis is. I wrote in an earlier blog about the time wasted on just filling prescriptions. Although, I don’t ever see the FDA being abolished I would be perfectly okay with more prescribed drugs transitioning to over the counter. For instance, I really don’t understand why someone would argue against not putting some relatively harmless drugs in Walgreens or CVS. People then say “Well we can’t trust people with drugs!”.This assumes people don’t already abuse over the counter drugs which they do. Aspirin is commonly used yet taking one too many can lead someone to serious medical problems yet it’s over the counter. Allowing prescriptions to transition from behind the counter to over the counter is a no brainer since patients today are more informed than ever before and it would free up useless “prescription visits” when doctors could be using their time in productive ways and potentially be saving more lives.
It is also pointless to have laws that bar individuals to buy medical insurance across state lines. The insurance industry is so highly regulated the few new companies can enter the market due to barriers of entry. In the technology world companies new companies are popping up all the time. Although, not all these companies will be successes the idea is to let consumers vote with their dollars.
I love when how people talk about how everyone deserves healthcare as if it is a right. With the ObamaCare mandate decision due to come out this fall in the Supreme Court we will see if the government can in fact require people to purchase something. Even if we were to magically waive a wand and grant everyone healthcare it doesn’t mean that health outcomes improve. I could have healthcare but still not work out, eat the wrong foods, and not get enough sleep. How does merely having healthcare improve outcome?
The medical insurance market really isn’t a market. Medical insurance covers everything (even just visiting a doctor). An analogy for car insurance would be only making a co pay when you have your oil change. The idea of insurance is to pay for catastrophic things and not cover every single item. Car insurance does not protect consumers against buying the wrong color car or gas prices.
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