Fritz, just a couple points about your idea to let the free market control health care costs like it does other products. I am a retired business man that spent 40 years in the most competitive dog eat dog business in this nation..and survived and prospered. So I fully understand how market pricing works.
The problem with health care is that the purchaser is often under duress or at least severe stress to make a purchase decision and an alternative may not be available.
Since this is a tractor forum lets say you need new tires for your tractor. So you take it in and when they start to install the tires they find that the rims are rotted out and the axle seals are shot. How can you shop price now? Tell them to put it back together unfixed and move it after you have started over looking for the best price?
3 health examples:
It is 3 AM and your 3 yr old baby has a severe ear infection, 103f fever, vomiting, screaming in pain. Doctor gives you a prescription. Are you going to the nearest 24 hour drugstore or are you going to mail it to the low cost drug plan and wait for it to come in the mail?
Your 10 year old grandchild has a very bad bike wreck, breaks an arm, may have a concussion, seems unable to communicate. She is in the emergency room. How do you shop prices? Are you ready to load her up and drive to the low cost hospital?
Your mother is in a hospital, terminally ill. The doctor decides to order a battery of expensive tests and an exotic treatment that will give her a few more weeks of life. I suppose you can call other hospitals, check their prices then load Moms hospital bed, tubes, monitors. catheter bag and all and go down the street to a different hospital just to keep them cost competitive.
Point is the highest cost part of healthcare does not really lend itself to free market competition. Routine healthcare does fit somewhat but most of those savings have already been felt in the system.
Go to a Jiffy Lube and they will spend 10 minutes trying to sell you additional unwanted and often unneeded services. Do you really think people working in health care don't care about owning big houses, nice cars, and taking fancy vacations?
A lot of this stuff sounds good in the abstract but is painfully unrealistic in the real world.
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