OMGWTFBBQ??? Krugman writing a column that I can agree with? It's a sign of the End Times!
Seriously, the health care system is pretty badly screwed up, and I think a lot of it is because most health insurance isn't really health insurance, it's more like prepaid care. So people tend to go running to the doctor for every sore throat and sniffle, which drives up the cost...and there's no good way to comparison shop between doctors and clinics, at least not yet, which is another thing that drives up costs. Don't even get me started on Medicare.
One thing I notice he doesn't mention about the VA: a lot of the efficiency he touts has come from the current administration closing down a lot of VA hospitals (many of which were providing horrible care) and having a lot of veterans dealt with on an outpatient basis or through home health care.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2005-04-13 04:39 pm (UTC)Seriously, the health care system is pretty badly screwed up, and I think a lot of it is because most health insurance isn't really health insurance, it's more like prepaid care. So people tend to go running to the doctor for every sore throat and sniffle, which drives up the cost...and there's no good way to comparison shop between doctors and clinics, at least not yet, which is another thing that drives up costs. Don't even get me started on Medicare.
One thing I notice he doesn't mention about the VA: a lot of the efficiency he touts has come from the current administration closing down a lot of VA hospitals (many of which were providing horrible care) and having a lot of veterans dealt with on an outpatient basis or through home health care.