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Hospital Price Gaps Show Just How Broken the US Health-Care Market Is
(www.bloomberg.com)
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this post was submitted on 26 Dec 2023
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The "normal" market forces here are with almost fully inelastic demand. The system is working exactly as those in charge intend: to maximize profits at the expense of our health.
Speaking from the pharmacy perspective.
Banks wove their way into drug transactions as a middleman called Pharmacy benefits managers. They stand between insurance and pharmacies to prevent collision, but instead, what we see is insurance companies pay a lot for drugs, while pharmacies see very little for that drug. Over 50% is being taken by the PBM because they're "preventing" collision. Don't even get me started on the vertically integrated pharmacies like CVS and United who abuse their position to force consumers to use their pharmacies instead of competitors or use "technological advancements" to keep their prices lower than their competitors.
NYC is currently trying to pass legislation to fix this, but that's only at the state level.
Wall Street needs to get the fuck out of healthcare and healthcare needs to stay the fuck out of Wall Street. Once a healthcare org talks about share holders, we're no longer talking about patients.
The vast majority is inelastic.
Our choice of facilities and physicians is limited by insurers, our selection of whom is in turn limited by our employer.
I can choose a different grocery store by simply driving in one direction instead of another; I can select a different brand of pasta by moving my hand a couple feet down on the shelf. Selecting a new care team for my wife involves a solid week of full-time effort, and there's no guarantee of the level of care she'll actually receive.
Not to mention that there might be one or two healthcare “systems” in your area. If you live rurally, good luck with that.
Also if it's anything like my area there'll be a six month wait before you can get your first appointment so good fucking luck. If it doesn't work out? Well, better hope you have a workable plan B.
Plan B is to put a paper bag over your head, lie on the ground, and wait for death.
The market itself undermines consumer efforts to plan care. I asked my doctor to screen a skin mark for cancer, fucking prick told me to come back next time and ask again later. Ok doc, just let me have the cancer instead.