No it doesn't. Japan uses cutting edge technology and it costs a fraction of what US physicians and hospitals charge.
Totally different culture. Malpractice litigation is low. Malpractice insurance is quite low as well. ERs are allowed to refuse patients. Docs don't have to practice defensive medicine. The average annual malpractice rate here in the US is above the average income rate for the populace. There are many ways to lower the cost of medicine. Trying to balance the medical costs on the backs of hospitals and docs can only go so far. And the single payer insurance the govt is trying to institute will fail because the majority won't pay it. There is a total intitlement cultural problem here in the US that other countries don't have.
I think you have a good point here. We spend a lot of time discussing ways to lower medical costs but reforms to how malpractice suits are handled and perhaps even capped are in order. If we are serious about lowering health care costs I would agree that our focus should not be just on a hand full of sectors, but the whole picture. I have a good friend who is the assistant DA here and he tells me all the time that the old 80-20 rule applies in the court system: 80% of the population make up 20% of the litigation and the other 20% of the population make up the other 80% of litigation in the courtrooms. And as you can imagine, a lot of these are bull shit cases filed by the lowest of society in a blatant attempt to get money....free money as they see it. This is also true of medical malpractice suits. Further, when someone has an honest to God medical malpractice suit where some quack completely screws something up the integrity of their claim is diluted by all the bull shit that gets thrown against the wall by the money seekers. This should be a part of the equation, no doubt.
Girlfriend had to take her daughter to Dr for flu. Found out her deductible has increased. It was $1000 now it's $3000. At least her monthly payment hasn't increased, yet. I can't wait till the democrats at the shop, that voted for Barry and his free healthcare, are forced to enroll. They make too much to get a taxpayer funded subsidy but still not enough to be able to afford a monthly health insurance payment.
I think you're not very knowledgeable about Japan's healthcare system. Japanese physicians earn their income from outpatient care, not surgical procedures or inpatient medical care and the surgery rate is a quarter of that in the United States which limits malpractice. In America, doctors jump at the chance to cut you open because that's how they earn. For outpatient care, they focus on preventative as well as the various testing methods like MRIs, CAT scans, etc. where they use (American) technology more advanced that most American hospitals have, yet charge a fraction of the cost.
What kind of plan did she have before? I ask because my premium went up $2 a month, but everything else is the same.
orks She works for MSU and is on Blue Cross/Blu Shield of Mississippi. MSU pays her premium and she pays her daughters. She said it was a $1000 deductible for her family last time they used it, last summer. Now it's $3000 and it has to be met before copays kick in. The woman at the clinic told her that with the $3000 deductible she might as well not even have insurance cause it would take something pretty bad just to meet the deductible.
Just one or 2 ER visits will eat that up in a hurry. 3 years ago, I went to St. Tammany Hosp with chest pains. Stayed 2 nights (my sister is a vp there so they were very thorough). Total stay was about $20k. This year, I fell off of a ladder while trimming trees. Pretty much knocked out my $3000 deductible in one fell swoop.
Kyle the example you provided is one of my main objections to the law. It does nothing to change the equation of how the charges are generated. The whole system is so black and mysterious and there is no way to define and compare costs that the hospitals, insurance companies and pharma set prices that have no relation to costs. Look at the profits in big hospital systems...there is no real competition to keep cost in check. There is no way your hospital stay should cost $20k. Rather than rig the system as Obamacare does change it. Open up real competition in the medical industry.
