tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8011567817570086256.post2075749171159533654..comments2018-12-26T07:39:56.423-07:00Comments on REASON POWER POLICY: Rising Expenditure on Health CareAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05431036725490947171noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8011567817570086256.post-47292118929143194782009-12-31T15:48:32.778-07:002009-12-31T15:48:32.778-07:00Harrison,
Yeah, graphs can lie! At least to the i...Harrison,<br /><br />Yeah, graphs can lie! At least to the incautious.<br /><br />Jenn,<br /><br />I think that it means that if you added up all of the money that is paid into health care each year, a smaller and smaller fraction of that amount is coming in the form of direct out of pocket payments from patients.<br /><br />Think of it like this: If you used $500 worth of health care back in the '60s, you would have gotten a bill for about $200. Today, you'd get a bill for about $60. But that doesn't mean you didn't pay the other $440, you just paid it up front in your expensive insurance premium. So why's that a problem? Because reducing the amount of health care you consume doesn't reduce your health care spending, so you have no incentive to try and be frugal with health care. You pay for it whether you use it or not, so you may as well use it, right? But if everyone does that then pretty soon we're all using (and paying for) way too much health care. That's the argument anyway. On the other hand, who wants to go to the doctor and waste a couple hours waiting around if they're not really sick?<br /><br />I'm more worried about pernicious effects like this: I don't care how much I get charged for health care because I don't pay for it, so I don't argue with the hospital when they over bill me (or charge way too much for a service I need). My insurer eats the cost, but then next year raises my premium.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05431036725490947171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8011567817570086256.post-54485856707269591652009-12-31T13:36:34.109-07:002009-12-31T13:36:34.109-07:00I certainly like my doctor far more than my insure...I certainly like my doctor far more than my insurer. i think we all like to think that we're victims of insurance companies. Who wants to think that their physician is in on a separate, equally malicious quest to steal our money?<br /><br />And, what is with that first graph?? What does "as a share of total healthcare spending" even mean? That seems to make it nearly meaningless. Am I wrong?jennhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07771744219758353994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8011567817570086256.post-56495571692945161242009-12-31T13:09:00.090-07:002009-12-31T13:09:00.090-07:00I also don't like how that first graph makes y...I also don't like how that first graph makes you think the 2005 percentage is zero at first glance.Harrison Brookiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05372315442336546216noreply@blogger.com