They Know Most People Are Walking Around Half Asleep And Not Paying Any Attention

submitted by EndlessSunflowers from i.imgur.com

sorted by:
top
newinsightfulfun
you are viewing a single comment's thread.

view the rest of the comments →

[–]AnarchySpeach 6 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 1 fun -  (4 children)

(Disclaimer: I'm pro-capitalism.) The fact that hospitals have the legal ability to obfuscate prices is bullshit. It goes against everything that capitalism stands for and the fact that so few people care boggles my mind. Everybody keeps talking about insurance and medicare when the real problem is the lack of competition between hospitals. They're run like a business with the power to make up numbers. Imagine if you knew going to a different dentist would save you $200. The vast majority of people are more than willing to drive an extra 30 minutes to save that much money. Not every trip to the doctor is a life or death emergency.

The power to choose the cheaper option would force these places to lower their prices. That's how it works in the rest of the market. Why the fuck are they the exception?

They should be legally required to list the prices of everything. A pdf you can access with your phone would be an easy start. There shouldn't be a mystery. Give the internet 24 hours. There would be spreadsheets and free apps telling you which hospital has the best prices for what you need.

Apologies in advance for the vox link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tct38KwROdw but this bullshit is criminal. If I tried pulling half that crap on a customer I would be sued so fast my lawyer would smack me.

[–]Zapped 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Yes, although I think "insurance" is a big part of the problem, as well. In my opinion, health insurance should not be an employment benefit. That started when salaries were capped during WW2 and companies needed a way to recruit new employees. Also, the insurance companies love the ACA. Why even try to offer value when the entire country is forced to buy what you're selling.

[–]goatmeal 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

competition is stifled by government. you need to beg the government for permission to build an acute care facility. having three or more competing facilities within driving distance as well as transparent pricing would send health care costs to the floor.

Not every trip to the doctor is a life or death emergency

The vast majority of trips to acute care facilities are not life or death emergencies. A person would be led to believe otherwise if they are the kind of person who refuses to ever go unless it's in the back of an ambulance.

[–][deleted] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Give the internet 24 hours.

That's so accurate it's funny.

[–]bagano1 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

They still have monopolies that are hard to break so it wouldn't help. Car repair is much the same way. There's a lot of competition but they still charge outrageous rates.