Patters

Seems to me this chart pretty well shows how out of whack our health care spending is.



FiveThirtyEight: Politics Done Right: Healthcare Spending and Life Expectancy

BelichickFan

For the last time, everyone (or almost everyone) is in favor of health care reform. It's just thatn many of us are not is favor of THIS health care reform.

Also, looking at life expectancy solely based on health care is stupid. You need to look at exercise levels, nutrition, alcohol and drug abuse (that goes for infant mortality too). Blaming or praising life expectancy on one thing is stupid.

Harry Boy

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Harry Boy (Genius)

In The Absence Of Law And Order Society Will Surely Destroy Itself

JackBauer

OK, I'll bite. What reforms would YOU prefer?

Patters

One of the key services that most national health care models provide is a national strategy on preventative health care. For instance, I lived in Sweden during the AIDS epidemic, and the country went all out to address the issue, educating people in ads on buses and on tv, making condom machines widely available, and so on. We were much slower to move on this issue. Also, in Sweden, the anti-drug efforts are far more successful than the ones here. At any rate, it seems unlikely that if you put our health care system into Sweden they would end up with anything more than increased costs. The only health care reform that I've seen advocated by conservatives is tort reform, but studies show that would not save that much money and would penalize victims of malpractice, as well as abusers of the system.

Tort Reform Unlikely to Cut Health Care Costs The Washington Independent

The experience of Texas in capping damage awards is a good example. Contrary to Perry’s claims, a recent analysis by Atul Gawande in the New Yorker found that while Texas tort reforms led to a cap on pain-and-suffering awards at two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, which led to a dramatic decline in lawsuits, McAllen, Texas is one of the most expensive health care markets in the country. In 2006, “Medicare spent fifteen thousand dollars per person enrolled in McAllen, he finds, which is almost twice the national average — although the average town resident earns only $12,000 a year. “Medicare spends three thousand dollars more per person here than the average person earns.”

atomdomb

this probably has nothing to do with the cost of health care...

Obesity statistics - countries compared - NationMaster

BelichickFan

What is this, groundhog's day ? I've only given my opinion about 1,000 times. I don't feel like doing it all again but tort reform, less regulation of insurance, health savings accounts, insurance only for catastrophic issues only, etc.

BelichickFan

One of the problems is insurance is over-regulated. I can't get a policy where I work without all kinds of crap I don't need. But they have to offer it in the packages. They aren't allowed to correctly price (liberals call it discriminate) their policies based on age, gender, health, etc. It's not true insurance, it's more like prepaid healthcare. I'd be much better off having a catastrophic plan, paying less, putting the difference in a health savings account and spending from that for smaller more optional stuff as needed.

Patters

What do you mean by tort reform? An end to victim's rights? If a doctor botches a procedure and your child becomes an invalid for life, what cap should government impose on the victim's care and the family's suffering? As far as less regulation of insurance, are you saying that insurance companies should be allowed to build pools for the healthy and price the sick out of the market? As far as catastrophic issues go, what do you consider catastrophic? Is it based on your particular income bracket? For a poor family, the cost of fixing a broken limb might well wipe out all their resources. Frankly, it sounds like you presented a few talking points, but certainly not a plan.

BelichickFan

It wasn't meant as a plan, as I said, I've talked about it ad nauseum. But saying you're going to cut $500B from Medicare and saying the costs are for 10 years but only starting to consider the costs until 4 years later therefore counting just 6, isn't a viable plan either. It's crap. Having health savings, accounts with assistance to the poor, that can grow when unused and having people choose what they want to pay for instead of getting anything with the shrug of a should because insurance is paying is a ridiculous system.

How much do you think garages would charge for an oil change if everyone's car insurance covered them ? Probably about $200 because no-one would care.