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S-Kunst t1_j0yesx8 wrote

This is a good idea. Still, I hope to learn from an economist, why, in America only hospitals and colleges go against the economy norm for any industry, where greater size equals lower consumer cost.

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LS6 t1_j0z3f27 wrote

Because they're both cases where people largely aren't spending their own money.

For healthcare, the vast majority of people have health insurance and only care about their copay.

For higher education, the open spigot of government guaranteed loans ensures tuition and costs will grow to match the available funds.

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S-Kunst t1_j139npl wrote

Yes, I think not spending one's own money is a prime reason. If people could get quick loans for car repairs, mechanics would prob start over charging, knowing there was an easy money source. Now they realize that people have to take it from their own pocket, this keeps them more in check. I am convinced that this whole student loan crisis has been because people can get school loans fairly easily.

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Mystfyre t1_j0zc12m wrote

For healthcare, there's a whole host of reasons. But a big one is price transparency. It is nigh impossible to shop around for healthcare, because even hospitals/clinics and your insurance aren't sure how much you'll be charged out of pocket until they send it through billing. Imagine a world where you don't discover the price of anything until after you buy it. That's US healthcare. Markets can't function without prices.

That is what this publish requirement is meant to fix, but I don't think it will be much help. Contracts change constantly and a lot of the data is wrong. It doesn't account for deductibles or maximum coverage or if your insurance decides to not cover something just because.

Maryland is unique in that regulated hospitals have to charge the same amount for the same service, and revenue is capped. Hospitals ostensibly can't make more money by pumping up volumes. But that is just the facility fee, professional fees (the doctors) still function under fee-for-service and can vary greatly. Clinics are unaffected as well.

If it takes an army of professionals to vaguely understand the system, what hope is there for any particular individual?

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Sarcastic_Source t1_j10fp1x wrote

All of this is a bunch of jibberish, the real answer is that healthcare isn’t and shouldn’t be a “market commodity” but a fundamental human right guaranteed to all.

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