I haven't looked much into the idea of if a government run program, such as Medicare, would save money. It might. I suspect though if we make all health care workers government employees, health care workers will band together and vote into office politicians that do their bidding. It's easy for health care workers to scare politicians to do what they want. All they need to do is to say, your policy is killing Americans. That tends to get politicians scrambling.
What is it, I believe Medicare pays .87 cents on the dollar of medical expenses. As a result it is insurance holders that pay more to cover Medicare losses. I guess that is why many doctors will not see Medicare patients. At least this is what I've read. I have my doubts that lower cost will remain the case if everyone is on Medicare.
Medicare only covers 80% of costs. Patients pay the other 20%. I've read retirement articles saying that one should expect to pay about $300,000 out of pocket once on Medicare.
I've though the idea of requiring Americans to shop around and compare medical prices an excellent idea. We do that with most everything else but for some reason we don't with health care. I belong to a Christian Health savings health coverage group that asks members to compare prices. It's similar to insurance but has some differences.
It's amazing at how large the price differences can be between hospitals. There are many articles that can be seen on this with an internet search. The savings health group I belong to just raised their prices for the first time in 12 years. And prices for coverage still remain low. This is due to members shopping around for their health care.
It would be nice if the government passed a law requiring hospitals and insurance companies to provide costs to insurance holders. Currently only out of pocket prices are available for price comparison.
"Huge health care price differences even within same area, by state"
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...erences-even-within-same-area-state/83340550/
excerpt:
Huge variations exist in the prices of some of the most common medical procedures across state lines, by according to a report major insurers released Wednesday, but some experts say the data is of little use to consumers who rarely know what they owe until the bills arrive.
The insurer-funded Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) won’t disclose which hospitals or doctors are the high-price culprits and instead are releasing how much states' average prices differ from national average.
California, for example, has average prices that are the same as the U.S. averages for dozens of the most common procedures, including pregnancy ultrasounds and cataract surgery. But Clearhealthcosts.com, which compiles prices in 10 metro areas using data from consumers, doctors and hospitals and its own staff members' research, finds a huge price disparity within a 100-mile radius of San Francisco for some procedures.
The cash price for a lower-back MRI without dye ranges from $475 at the Castro Valley Open MRI to a whopping $6,221 at the University of California, San Francisco at Mt. Zion. Patients pre-paying or paying on the day of service at UCSF, however, get 40% off.....
What is it, I believe Medicare pays .87 cents on the dollar of medical expenses. As a result it is insurance holders that pay more to cover Medicare losses. I guess that is why many doctors will not see Medicare patients. At least this is what I've read. I have my doubts that lower cost will remain the case if everyone is on Medicare.
Medicare only covers 80% of costs. Patients pay the other 20%. I've read retirement articles saying that one should expect to pay about $300,000 out of pocket once on Medicare.
I've though the idea of requiring Americans to shop around and compare medical prices an excellent idea. We do that with most everything else but for some reason we don't with health care. I belong to a Christian Health savings health coverage group that asks members to compare prices. It's similar to insurance but has some differences.
It's amazing at how large the price differences can be between hospitals. There are many articles that can be seen on this with an internet search. The savings health group I belong to just raised their prices for the first time in 12 years. And prices for coverage still remain low. This is due to members shopping around for their health care.
It would be nice if the government passed a law requiring hospitals and insurance companies to provide costs to insurance holders. Currently only out of pocket prices are available for price comparison.
"Huge health care price differences even within same area, by state"
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...erences-even-within-same-area-state/83340550/
excerpt:
Huge variations exist in the prices of some of the most common medical procedures across state lines, by according to a report major insurers released Wednesday, but some experts say the data is of little use to consumers who rarely know what they owe until the bills arrive.
The insurer-funded Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) won’t disclose which hospitals or doctors are the high-price culprits and instead are releasing how much states' average prices differ from national average.
California, for example, has average prices that are the same as the U.S. averages for dozens of the most common procedures, including pregnancy ultrasounds and cataract surgery. But Clearhealthcosts.com, which compiles prices in 10 metro areas using data from consumers, doctors and hospitals and its own staff members' research, finds a huge price disparity within a 100-mile radius of San Francisco for some procedures.
The cash price for a lower-back MRI without dye ranges from $475 at the Castro Valley Open MRI to a whopping $6,221 at the University of California, San Francisco at Mt. Zion. Patients pre-paying or paying on the day of service at UCSF, however, get 40% off.....
