undefined | Better HN

0 pointspkaye5y ago0 comments

One thing I read is public hospitals seem to be overwhelmed with uninsured patients who often come for emergency care because they have no other options. Private hospitals are able to grab the insured patients. Medicaid funding is not enough to pay for the cost of care for low income patients so hospitals survive on those private insurers to balance the books. There was a recent Frontline documentary about this. https://www.pbs.org/video/the-healthcare-divide-rv6npd/

0 comments

3 comments · 1 top-level

hallway_monitor5y ago· 2 in thread

So the "free" healthcare provided to ingident people because it's mandated by law causes insane costs on hospital bills for those that actually can pay. As always, obscure requirements and incentives lead to incomprehensibly perverse outcomes. This is why the libertarian standpoint holds so much attraction - anything the government becomes involved in always gets worse.

pavlov5y ago

What’s the libertarian solution to healthcare? Let people die in the street in front of the hospital if their credit card can’t handle an $18k charge?

slownews455y ago

Most other countries offer a baseline of health care that DOES NOT go to extraordinary lengths (ie, 10M) that is free to everyone. They pay those doctors a salary, often also cover the medical education for them etc.

Then people can and do pay on top of that for private care. Super wealthy are in their own system, many others go for basic stuff to public option but might pay privately for speed / fancier results.

This mirrors libertarian model in most cases.

The US is a bit unique. For example, end of life care is both fully covered in most cases and insanely expensive - we spend far more than many other countries on things like last 3-6 months of life doing "heroic" measures, full intensive care etc etc. Again very lucrative to hospitals so don't see it stopping, but yes, other countries do not do this unless you pay yourself.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse