Full transcript at PBS
Category: Really, really bad calls, Video
Please use the comments to demonstrate your own ignorance, unfamiliarity with empirical data and lack of respect for scientific knowledge. Be sure to create straw men and argue against things I have neither said nor implied. If you could repeat previously discredited memes or steer the conversation into irrelevant, off topic discussions, it would be appreciated. Lastly, kindly forgo all civility in your discourse . . . you are, after all, anonymous.
The same reason why public education is getting expensive.
Patients/Students and Doctors/Teachers are required to use expensive tests and equipment. Guess what the test results will be biased towards..
By having an automated system diagnose a treatment, the doctor’s hand is washed clean.
This is similar to robo-signing situation we had in the mortgage industry.
I cannot say I understand why a hospital would be permitted by Medicare to keep a patient without hope for 10 months in the hospital. There must be more to that story.
While I can’t argue witht what he says I wonder why there is no mention of the insurance industry. Could they be the sponsors of this film? Single payor would save a bundle and get thte cost off the backs of business and would probably be the. Quickest fix available
full video here http://video.pbs.org/video/2283573727/
Lots and lots of reasons:
1) In 1960, patients paid 48% of healthcare (“HC”) costs out of pocket. Today it’s 12% or less. With low copays, many people pay almost nothing at all. So “no personal responsibility” is a big contributor.
2) In 1960, the Fed Gvt controlled about 22% of HC spending (and this ignores control through regulation, another big factor), most of which appeared to be veterans HC benefits. Today it’s 50% and about to grow significantly faster. People wonder why costs have gotten out of control, don’t (only) ask the doctors and hospitals, ask the Fed Gvt!
3) Demographics: We’ve been robbing (young) Peter to pay for (old) Paul. The “War of Poverty” (~1966) included expansions of Soc Sec but most importantly, it created Medicare and Medicaid (see #2 above!). In 1966, the “oldest” Baby Boomer was about 20. In other words, about to enter the workforce, and there were “lots and lots” of Boomers. It was like a pyramid :-). As this pyramid (scheme) moved into the workforce, lots and lots of people (suckers) were paying into the Medicare/caid (Ponzi) system. Demographically, we’ve run out of “suckers” because the Boomers are ready to cash out. Meanwhile, these “War on Poverty” dollars gave the HC system the resources to significantly increase longevity (10 yrs since ~1950 and 19yrs since 1900). So demographics was a “double-edged” sword: (3.1) It gave the Fed Gvt money to spend that would eventually run out; (3.2) This HC spending increased longevity, which means a WHOLE lot more (old) Peters cashing in the Medicare/caid chips.
4) People don’t understand the dynamics of the insurance industry. They complain the industry “wastes” money on administrative costs. They believe the gvt is “more efficient” (ha!ha!) because it spends less administratively. Why is this wrong? Because a significant amount of the admin costs by insurance is spent controlling waste and abuse (aka fraud), whereas the gvt spends less here; hence the significant waste and abuse (fraud) in the gvt systems. Remember, when a politician says they will create savings by reducing “waste and abuse”, ask why they have NOT been doing that already! Why have “they” been wasteful and abusive in the past!
5) Historically, about 40% of (Fed) Senators and about 25% of Representatives are lawyers. Can anyone say “We need tort reform!”? Apparently the answer by Congress is NO (I want “my” cake!). btw: Is “good lawyer” an oxymoron?
6) The AMA is, in essence, a large union that controls the number of medical schools and thus the number of doctors. Over the last 30 yrs, the per capita number of doctors has actually declined (about 20%) while the number of med schools have been held constant over the last 50 yrs. This is simple economics, “lower supply = higher prices”. (btw: the number of law schools have increased 50% in 50 yrs).
7) Studies have shown that hospitals and doctors have turned from a focus of “treating patients” to significantly more focused on “generating dollars”.
8) We have apparently become less religious and this lack of faith seems to translate into a greater fear of dying. This means more people are more fervent about post-posting death, ESPECIALLY when someone else is paying (as the man in the video proves?).
I don’t have all my links handy, but I do have numerous links in the posts below:
http://econintersect.com/wordpress/?p=25496
http://mileshoffman.blogspot.com/2010/08/its-technological-innovation-damn-it-so.html
And now that government essentially has “complete control” of the HC system, rest assured, costs will come under control :-) :-) :-) .
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BR: Fantastic streak of easily disprovable junk science.
Wow, this may be the single least intelligent post ever at TBP. Thanks for breaking the record!