[quote=FlyerInHi]The easiest way to stop medical cost growth is to cap health care at a percentage of GDP, not to allow unlimited choices. Simple concept business people should understand. But Republicans blocked that in Obamacare.[/quote]
Have you even put an ounce of thought into how you would cap medical costs to a percentage of GDP? First you estimate GDP. Let’s say 15 trillion. Then we decide on a percentage let’s use 20%, we’re pretty close to that now (although most people would like to see it closer to 10%). So 3 trillion dollars. So now how do we manage every provider and payer so that we don’t exceed the $3 trillon limit. Let’s just do that the easiest way you can think of single payer. Doing it any other way would be next to impossible.
So now how do you manage the cap. Do you just stop paying people for providing services once the cap is reached for the year. Do you have to approve every elective procedure that anybody might want. Do you have to create a group to decide who can have what medical care and at what facility in order to manage this cap. It’s gets really hard really quickly doesn’t it.
Seems like it would be a lot easier if you just opened it up to competition. You can’t open a MRI imaging facility in San Diego even if you had the appropriate training and financing for the equipment. CON laws prevent you from doing that. Somebody can’t create an import export company that buys drugs for fractions of the price in India and then opens a pharmacy here.
That’s where the problem is the artificially reduced competition that pushes prices so high. The complete fraud in billing practices where hospitals can bill one patient a completely different amount that another patient for the same procedure. You do that in any other business you go to prison. If your a gas station owner and double the price of gas before a hurricane you go to jail. If you’re a hospital that’s completely fine.
