horrifyingthought t1_je80zip wrote on March 30, 2023 at 2:00 AM

Reply to comment by Thegreatcornholio459 in ELI5: What is Universal Healthcare by Thegreatcornholio459

No. The healthcare isn't more expensive. The fact it is both for profit and has absurd administrative costs is what drives prices up.

YellsAtGoats t1_je8fsvt wrote on March 30, 2023 at 4:07 AM

That, and outright bizarro hospital / private insurance markups. In your everyday life, you can go to any pharmacy and get basic cough lozenges at like $10 for a pack of 20 or more. But under hospital billing, those exact same lozenges can be $10 apiece.

SilverSageVII t1_je85jo5 wrote on March 30, 2023 at 2:36 AM

Yep this^ if anyone is interested, look up sticky ceiling in the medical industry. It is an economic theory explaining part of why cost is so high.

Edit: as I was searching for a link it seems that “sticky ceiling” was a term coined by NPR to refer to “price stickiness” that was tending toward highest prices in the medical field.

darkmooink t1_je8w5qz wrote on March 30, 2023 at 7:21 AM

You realise that you just said “healthcare isn’t more expensive. The prices are just higher.”

roseumbra t1_je8xzvt wrote on March 30, 2023 at 7:48 AM

I think they mean the actual cost to provide the healthcare isn’t higher, rather they just inflate the price to the consumer.

horrifyingthought t1_jec3nnq wrote on March 30, 2023 at 10:45 PM

... and? That would be correct. The cost to provide services isn't different when compared with comparable nations, but the structure and incentives of US healthcare are set up in a way that increases the price astronomically compared to other nations.