Those who feel entitled to our time and attention (article)

JAWSCIENCE

Wed, Feb 25 2015, 6:44 pm

ora_43 wrote:

I don't understand your last sentence. If it's the only available option to the uninsured, how is it not cheaper? The alternative is paying for insurance - no? A single ER visit can easily be cheaper than, say, 2 years of health insurance.

You are saying this as if there are two options. For the uninsured getting insurance is not the more expensive of two options. It is not an option because they cannot pay upfront for insurance. And before obamacare many without employer sponsored insurance had no ability to obtain insurance even if they wanted it. The er won't require upfront payment or proof of insurance and one can default on the bill making it the only option.

A single er visit can also sometimes be more expensive than two years of insurance depending on why you went to the er. But the original question was what costs more a physicians office or the er (you implied people go to the er and not an office since it is cheaper) but is it always cheaper to go to the office provided you have access to one.

Saying that since an office requires insurance your options are get insurance or go to the er implies that everyone has the choice to obtain insurance and are simply electing to gamble on it being cheaper to not do so. This is a falsity

Fox

Thu, Feb 26 2015, 12:04 pm

Excellent article! The Ecks make lots of great points.

Regarding defensive medicine, I believe it is quite possible to lessen the number of lawsuits without compromising the ability to be compensated for egregious mistakes.

One problem is that is that certain catastrophic medical conditions virtually require someone take the "blame" in order to ensure the patient's care, even when it's unclear that there was actual malpractice.

For example, the cost of labor and delivery is particularly affected by malpractice. Why? Because when a baby is born with, for example, a significant neurological disorder, chas v'sholom, there is little choice but to sue the doctor in order to pay for the cost of covering the care that will be required over the course of the child's life.

If, as many states have attempted, there were state "superfunds" available to pay for the care of catastrophic injuries, a certain percentage of families would choose not to sue. Very few of these proposals have been successful, however, since they're usually blocked by the lobby of personal injury lawyers.

What really strikes me in thinking about the problems of providing medical care is the fact that there is no one single "pill" that will solve all the problems. It's a combination of little things and big things.