Why Health Care Costs So Much: Is The Public Partially To Blame?

It is my job at EverythingHealth to steer the reader to great information.  For this reason I am providing you with a Link to The New England Journal of Medicine article titled “The $650 Billion Dollar question – why does cost effective care diffuse so slowly?”  I have retitled it “Why Health Care Costs So Much”.

The United States spends much more on health care than other industrialized nations with no improvement in outcomes or health status of it’s citizens.  If we enacted some of the policies that other nations use, we would have $650 Billion to spend on education, infrastructure, social security and other societal needs.  Why can’t we get there?

Read here to understand the barriers.  It isn’t simple.  Resistance to change and instituting cost effective care has many stakeholders including legislators, doctors, hospitals, drug and equipment manufacturers, academic training centers, insurance companies and even the media.  We, the public, are also to blame for not understanding that reform which lowers costs would benefit all of us.  There is no free lunch.  When the cost of care goes up for employers, that keeps our wages stagnant.  When millions are uninsured, the cost of their care is born by everyone and it is inefficient care.

The article authors tell us: “Legislators, for their part, usually oppose reforms that would make U.S. health care more cost-effective because they seek campaign contributions from health industry stakeholders who benefit from the current inefficient arrangements. Any sector that stands to sustain losses if reform is enacted will fight harder to oppose change than the more diffuse potential winners will fight to support it.”

Don’t take my word for it.  Go to the article and read about the $650 billion opportunity if we just enacted some cost saving efficient processes and organized our care delivery differently.

*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*


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