Do you know your cost of Health Care? A reality test for congress

4YourCountry ^ | 7/9/09 | Jim Bell

[energylover]

I have often thought that a basic problem with health care is insurance. That insurance, promising full coverage for those with the right employer, motivates bad behavior from customers and doctors. Why be a savvy shopper when all health care is free? This is often referred to as moral hazard, one abuses a resource if there are no repercussions. Conversely, the need to mitigate health care cost (counter moral hazard) has been regulating price, not paying more than $X for a given procedure.

Now in most other markets this combination of moral hazard and cost constraint, constrains innovation. Why innovate if I can't sell more product and make more money? If the customer can't decided on procedure, why offer any options? If there are no options, there is not concept of early adopters willing to pay a bit more for a more innovative product, that might not be perfect but none the less appealing to savvy shoppers (like the folks that bought an iPhone before it was a cool idea, in my case it was testing for CRP before it became a routine blood test).

So, I have been testing the health care industry. I have my own insurance and use a Health Savings Account. Essentially this lets me put $2500 into an account pretax and increases my deductible to $2500. My overall insurance cost is much lower, but I am at risk in a sense for the first $2500. So, I am now a consumer. I want to know how much everything costs, what its value will be, and wish to know more about my options.

[energylover]

Interesting perspective on healthcare unkowns....

[exDemMom]

I’ve thought for a long time that health insurance should not cover every little doctor visit. It should only cover the unusual costs... like if you get sick and have to go in the hospital.

When every doctor visit is “free,” people don’t consider whether they really need medical care, they just go.