7 ideas to reduce health care costs

[Peter1469]

7 ideas to reduce health care costs (http://www.realclearhealth.com/articles/2017/03/17/seven_business_solutions_to_reduce_health_care_cos ts_110500.html)

The ACA has 2,600 pages of regulations. That is crazy. 11.8M people gained access via Obamacare. 84% of those enrolled in Medicaid. And millions lost their coverage and now pay more with higher deductibles. Here are 7 ideas to cut costs- something Obama care did not attempt.

Read the article to see the discussion on each.
MANDATE MEDICAL SMART CARDS:
STANDARDIZE REIMBURSEMENT SYSTEMS
ELIMINATE FRAUD:
TELEMEDICINE:
INNOVATION & RESEARCH
MANDATE PRICE TRANSPARENCY
ELIMINATE ALL MEDICALLY UNNECESSARY PROCEDURES AND TESTS

It’s time for our nation’s policymakers to rise above the noise and look at what’s really impeding health care efficiency. America has fallen into the trap of making health care over-regulated, costly, and cost-prohibitive for too many citizens. It’s time to reverse course and modernize our health care system so it can have as fine a reputation as the medical care offered by our providers.

[MMC]

They forgot the most important way.....Take Demos out of the process.

[NapRover]

Great ideas. I'd add tort reform and prohibition of direct marketing of drugs.

[decedent]

No mention of health education, which can reduce all kinds of diseases like HPV, cancer and atherosclerosis.

[del]

i'm surprised no one thought of eliminating fraud before.

[NapRover]

No mention of health education, which can reduce all kinds of diseases like HPV, cancer and atherosclerosis.
We should get health education in every grade, K-12. Have they taken that away too?

[NapRover]

i'm surprised no one thought of eliminating fraud before.

They're afraid of the race card.

[Captain Obvious]

Tort reform

[Common]

Fraud was on thing Obama did go after I remember some big indictments for medicare fraud during his years. Give credit where its due

[Common]

They're afraid of the race card.
Medical fraud doesnt come from patients, it comes from providers, hosps etc

[NapRover]

Fraud was on thing Obama did go after I remember some big indictments for medicare fraud during his years. Give credit where its due
$150B a year? Doesn't seem like the priority was very high. He might have caught a few republicans.

[Peter1469]

Tort reform

I am not sure what that means.

If the doc operates on my left leg when my right leg was fucked up, I want to be able to sue the doc.

[Common]

I dont know the number, I remember reading about some large indictments for fraud.

[MisterVeritis]

And yet the one thing that could make the difference is not even mentioned; the free market. The socialists in the Republican Party are doing all they can to save ObamaCare. And President Trump supports them.

[MisterVeritis]

I am not sure what that means.

If the doc operates on my left leg when my right leg was fucked up, I want to be able to sue the doc.
That is not what tort reform means.

[NapRover]

Medical fraud doesnt come from patients, it comes from providers, hosps etc
I assumed it was along the lines of hundreds of IRS tax refunds all going to the same address, you are correct, according to what I just now researched.
Just think of how many trips to Mar-a-lago that would pay for.

[Peter1469]

That is not what tort reform means.

It is in a lot of jurisdictions.

[Captain Obvious]

I am not sure what that means.

If the doc operates on my left leg when my right leg was fucked up, I want to be able to sue the doc.

Sure, keep damage awards reasonable.

In our litigation happy society, lawyers go after deeper pockets with a fury.

Many states have tort reform limiting damages but states like PA don't and getting a qualified OB there is difficult where in PA malpractice insurance might approach 100k per year but across the state line in WV it could be a fifth of that.

What OB wants to open shop and have that kind of malpractice insurance price tag?

[Captain Obvious]

The other items in that list seemed kind of fuzzy. Eliminate fraud, innovation, eliminate unnecessary tests...

The insurance industry (following Medicare's lead) has gradually been reducing reimbursement for what is deemed "unnecessary" like multiple CT scans, lab tests, etc. That's kind of already happening. So is telemedicine which is pretty common now in rural areas. We have it and most of the hospitals I've been in have had it for a while. It's good for specialist stuff where specialists can't be on location. One innovation that is warming up is the "doc in a box". Like an ATM machine, you insert your insurance card, a doc behind a camera somewhere appears and "sees" you. Primary care stuff mostly.

To be honest, what really needs to happen is eliminate capitalism and lobbying. Ain't happening, so there will be only marginal cost control in this country and unfortunately a good bit of that "control" will be reducing access to services.

Because shareholders want paid and politicians want greased.

[del]

They're afraid of the race card.
yeah, that must be it.

[MisterVeritis]

It is in a lot of jurisdictions.
We can disagree. Tort reform means, in many ways, loser pays. We don't need defensive medicine.