So, let me get this straight. Trimming high health care costs is bad because they’re helping the economy to grow and providing jobs for health care workers? That’s like saying we should fund building a bridge to nowhere because it will provide construction jobs or build planes the Air Force doesn’t want or need because it will keep aircraft workers working (and voting). This should be a no brainer.
Expensive health care hurts individuals but helps state economy
RUTLAND, Vt. –As politicians and the public debate how to curb the $3 billion spent on health care in the state, they are keenly aware that one person’s unaffordable bill is another person’s paycheck.“We’re an economic engine, but it’s one that comes with the price tag,” said Beatrice Grause, president of the Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems. “We’re seeing double-digit inflation in health care costs. What do you do about that. If you don’t do something, you hurt the economy. If you downsize the industry, you hurt the economy. That’s why health care is so hard to fix politically. If it was easy, we would have done it already.”
That pretty well says it all!
Would it be too much to ask that a President of a state (whatever) org take an Econ 101 course a the local community college?
So then you support the outsourcing of XRay reading to another country? It can cut radiology bills in hallf or more.
They are not looking very far in the future. Change may cause temporary damage and still bring a greater benefit in the long run.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I do believe the USA has the most expensive health care “system” in the world.
Even so, at 6.5 deaths per 1,000 live births ( 2005 estimate, http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/rankorder/2091rank.html ), we rank lower than CUBA! 6.33, according to the same source.
Lower than Greece, Slovenia, the entire EU. Not that much better than New Caledonia! Arrrgh.
So, what’s up with THAT?!!
“If it was easy, we would have done it already.” Well, the longer we wait, the harder – and more painful – and more expensive – it will become.
Frankly, I’m getting mighty pessimistic about the long term economic outlook of our country. Among other things.
Ask GM if high health care costs help their economy
Bush administration logic at work…short term results for long term pain.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I do believe the USA has the most expensive health care “system” in the world.
Even so, at 6.5 deaths per 1,000 live births….
We have the most “expensive” health care simply because we can most afford to — we are the richest, with the most productive economy, which affords us the most luxuries, which includes extra spending on healthcare (a category which includes plastic surgery and LAZIK!). Not to mention we essentally subsidize medical advances for the rest of the world. (Who on Earth do you imagine would pay more for health care than us? Of couse we have the most expensive.)
As for deaths-per-births … what makes you think that has anything to do with the adequacy of healthcare? Serioulsy. Not hard to imagine abundant factors here, including many that result of our overly rich and lazy lifestyle (eg, trans fats), immigration (people who were not born here, die here, etc), as well as variables relating to age of population and fertility rates. Simple question, but it’s annoying how people point to a stat like that without thinking.
It would be nice if there were hard stats on how often putting off a $50 office visit turns into a $50,000 problem.
When the cost of health care is shouldered by a third party, while the doctor and consumer decide what to do, there’s practically no incentive to think about the cost.
I was in a car accident recently. I climbed out of the car and was walking around for 15 minutes before the police and paramedics came. I had a cut on my head, but otherwise I was and felt fine. NO ONE LISTENED to me. They put me in a head brace, the ambulance wisked me away to the hospital and the ER worked me up. The final straw was when they decided to give me a $1000 CT scan. I said I had to go to the bathroom, but they wouldn’t let me up and wanted me to pee into a tube. Either they were going to treat me their way, or I had to sign a paper and discharge myself. I signed the paper and nearly peed myself while I waited for them to take out the IV and neck brace, but I managed to pee standing up, alone, in a proper bathroom. Then I ran around Oakland for 2 hours trying to find a cab, half naked because they had cut my shirt off and it didn’t fit so well anymore.
I really don’t like hospitals.
Deaths per live birth, how about deaths per pregnancy? If our more advanced health care system ‘creates’ more babies that are underweight or deformed and survive a few months, should that count against or for?