Oh, onward into the really crazy ideas I come up with.
Health care costs. Whoa. Why is all that stuff so expensive?
The answer is that it's what the market will bear. Nobody's coming out with a Magnetic Resonance Imaging machine at a quarter of the cost of those being sold today.
Nobody's allowed to produce life-saving generics at much cheaper prices until a certain amount of time goes by and the patent expires.
So, using those two examples, companies (hospitals, etc.) that have MRI machines charge a lot for each use, because they want to be reimbursed for their expense. And pharmaceutical companies getcha for every last dime they can, folks, while that patent is still working in their favor.
Now really, tell me why pharmaceutical companies are coming up with drugs like Viagra. Really? The need for Viagra is greater than the need for researching cancer? No, of course not. The profit to be made from drugs like Viagra is great. And the pharmaceutical companies are willing to remind you that your body is aging and if you want to have a healthy sex life, you must do what this ad says: Ask your doctor about Viagra.
Eh. I have a better idea. Find out if your problem is caused by atherosclerosis first. Maybe consider changing your diet and exercising more, and see if you don't find yourself doing better.
But I digress.
Why do we let companies making profits lead us around by the nose? Are there no more grants to be had? Can nobody open up a not-for-profit pharmaceutical organization? Are universities only interested in staring at their own navels?
Yeah, I know. It's a crazy idea. Why would anybody want to make an organization for the sole purpose of kicking the legs out from under the profit-earning giants?
Well, anybody besides me, and I don't have the ability to do these things. All I can do is blog about my frustration. But if you'd like to argue, inform, or enlighten, please do. I would love to hear more ideas.
Meow.
-Spottedcat
Little known fact - I used to price hospital services.
ReplyDeleteI can tell you why some medical procedures cost so much. Part of it (not surprising) is the consumer. They want the best and newest equipment. It's not good enough to have a regular u/s, we want a 3 or 4D u/s. That means buying new equipment to replace perfectly good equipment and equipment that is more expensive.
Then we have those pesky nurses, technicians, custodians who think they deserve a raise, and then that increases prices. Most companies raise revenue to cover expenses by raising prices or reducing quality or quantity of their product. They outsource their labor. But, hospital have little means to cut expenses. And, as I mentioned above, raising prices doesn't change what medicare or insurance companies pay and the uninsured - the only people who can be charged full price - usually doesn't have the money to pay their actual bill.
okay, done with today's soap box.
Then there is the negotiated reimbursement rates. Medicare only pays a portion the actual expenses, the insurance companies negotiate rates based on the medicare reimbursements.
When our hospital raised prices, for every dollar we raised prices, it would result in 10 cents increased revenue.
Ah. You'll notice I don't suggest cutting nursing services, lab techs, janitors, and people like that (nor their paychecks). I respect the humans who work in the medical field, perhaps more than many, considering how much contact I have had with them in the past year.
ReplyDeleteIs it the consumer who wants the latest, greatest MRI machine? Or the doctors, who are courted by sales personnel? If the doctors said to the patients, "It costs $1000 to have the MRI, and it costs $500 to have a CT scan, and really, you only need a CT scan," would it really make a difference to the patient? If I'm having my shoulder looked at (which I probably should do, since it really hurts), I don't care which method they use to figure out why I hurt.
What I'd like to see are ways to cut the costs that can, and should, be cut. I occasionally watch the Nightly Business Report, even though I don't play in the stock market myself. Medical companies--pharmaceuticals, things like that, that trade on the stock market and are therefore for-profit companies--always seem to be worth investing in, according to the NBR folks. There's something about that that's just... wrong.
By the way, I don't want to scare you away, because you're the only one who comments, Timestep. But I love to dig into these things, and I think you do, too. Maybe we can find answers? Or create them? Or at least scare politicians? You know, that sounds like fun, scaring politicians...