Yes

by UrMessage

Created on: October 08, 2007   Last Updated: May 10, 2012

Can deregulation and free markets lower the cost of health care in the US?

Yes it can and it would happen rather quickly if it were allowed to occur naturally with minor regulation and rules to keep checks and balances in order. The government is run by politicians who are looking for votes, trying to curry favor, or they could be running a secret agenda. What we do know is that the government is slow to react and when they finally do, they overreact, overspend, and increases taxes on the middle class to pay for it.

1.) Competition

Anyone who has taken basic economics knows the free market system rules when a monopoly or oligopolies are not in charge and even then it works sometimes. So, by opening up health care and allowing them to operate like a true business would greatly cut health costs in half.

Stop allowing illegal citizens of any origin health care. I am not talking about the homeless or uninsured Americans since they are covered by the government and the hospitals at least receive some compensation. I am talking about people who have no right to be in America, they eat away hundreds of millions of dollars in emergency rooms costs. If we do not change this then at least heal them and then stick them in a holding cell. If they cannot come up with 10-25% of the medical costs they should be deported.

The competition would drive lower drug costs, hospital accessories and more. Health insurance helps hospitals to increase their prices, illegal's steal money and pay no taxes, and regulation forces prices higher. Something should be done to alleviate the American wallet book.

2.) Delinquencies

Because costs are so high people can not afford to pay their bills or simply will not. The industry is lazy and has not created a friendly accounting and customer service department. If they would help people see the costs up front and show them payment options and make things look more attractive people would not have hard times paying their bills or be disgruntled and not pay them

For example, I have several bills from my son's birth 9 months ago. Two doctors forgot to bill for some reason and my health insurance has changed three times. Once due to shift in company insurance plan and a second due to a job shift. So now they are trying to collect for the full amount since they were unable to bill the correct health insurance. I would have already paid the bill if they had billed properly and in a timely fashion. But due to their ignorance and idleness they will not receive payment for another 3-4 months if ever.

The hospitals have some of the highest rate of delinquencies in business. Just imagine what would happen to hospital costs if they streamlined their process, lowered their costs, increasing accounts payable and therefore decreasing their costs across the board. There is just so much waste inflating the numbers.

Hospitals should just charge what is due. The hospital system does not charge you $10 for a band-aid because that is the true costs. No they tack on several dollars to lower open heart surgery, brain surgery and all other million dollar costs. So every time you pay a bill at the hospital remember you are supporting someone else, what? Yes, that is exactly what my reaction was. We pay for health insurance to adjust these costs. Yet the hospital is passing the bill along to everyone else. If we paid exactly for what we used the average bill would be cut by 25% maybe more holding all else constant. I guarantee you that many of those small delinquencies would be paid and collected within a month of the bill being sent. Some people do not even know they owe medical bills, sent to the wrong address, wrong health insurance, etc. Inefficiencies are just rampant, where is the six sigma lean program when you need it.

3.) Medical Costs

Whenever a market has fixed regulated costs, high profit margins, and lots of cash flowing around, all those who service the industry charge more money to get in on the action. So by creating a free market in the health industry, all other associated costs would begin to lower.

Prescription drugs costs millions more in America because the FDA is inefficient. If it streamlined the process we would have extremely safe drugs and cheaper prices. If the US would remove the tariffs imposed on Canada their drugs would be around 50% cheaper and drastically lower medical costs all across the board. Forget subsidizing drugs for senior citizens just remove the tariffs and taxes and let the free market rule.

Something most people do not know - you can bargain with the hospital and get lower rates. Not just by prepaying but by using an agent or arguing your self. There are companies that will lower your bills for you; they of course take a percentage of the money you save.

4.) Hospital Accounting

Stop allowing hospitals to rent equipment, do not allow the government to get a subsidized rate for inmates, illegals, and medical clients. Alter schedules so that nurses and doctors are on 40 hour a week shifts with a limit on over time to avoid gaming the system (a very common and expensive occurence). The government should take over all hospital buildings and cover the physical presence expenses with current taxes from federal and state income and have just the organizations to run their medical practices. There are dozens of more statements like these that all can reduce the cost of our health care costs premiums and out of pocket expenses. Lastly, did you know that the medical companies pay sales reps up to 15% commission (average is around 4% to 7%), that is a huge chunk right there that should be dealt with immediately.

In the End:

Health care costs are continuing to rise, retirement funds [ http://www.askmymind.com/more/more/personal-finance/108-general/11480-smart-moves-for-retirement ] are decreasing, savings in America are decreasing, and life may get tougher if the government does not take the right precautions and allow deregulation and free markets to move as they should.

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