I had an inspiration today. The way we pay for healthcare is like
the old military cost-plus contracts. The payer (the government, the
private insurance company) pays for all the costs the patients racks up
(or a percentage of the costs). This method was terrible at
cost-containment on military spending, so we junked it. It's terrible
for cost-containment on healthcare spending, so we should... junk it.
Finding
a new model to pay for and manage healthcare costs, now that
won't be easy, especially with people screaming "rationing" and fighting every inch of cost containment. How do we get consumers to want less healthcare and doctors to hold down costs while maintaining a responsive healthcare system?
2 comments:
Another hretorical question?
Duh!! Replace human beings with CYBORGS!!!
People already get less healthcare as insurance companies suck massive amounts out of the system. They are the villians in this. Tney make money by collecting premiums, not paying claims.
As for the rest of it, expect healthcare to continue to grab more and more of the economy, but you have to reduce costs whenever possible, not just in healthcare but in the rest of the economy as well, to pay for what people want. Oh, and healthcare has to become more effective, but that not in the equation much. Making money is the key unless it's a single payer system.
@Anon, Questioning is at the center of my method, just like Socrates. With that pedigree, not to mention how well it works for me, I'm not giving it up.
BTW, it's as much a practical question as it is rhetorical.
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