Health Care: You Are Not the Customer (David Goldhill)

[dgswilson]

"make its people equal" Nothing personal against this statement (taskmasterlax) it just jumped out at me. We can't help being affected by the constant barrage of language we hear everyday. This statement says - We no longer separate in our thinking governments, money, human rights and so on. Capitalism and democracy woven into the same mental cloth. Separate things rolled up into a singular thought ball.We've gotten nations, governments and people confused as one singular thing.

[Surhotchaperchlorome]

The USA's health care system is NOT a free market. It's a corporatist/socialist clusterfuck.

[ConservativeHealth]

The commodification of human health is fundamentally a good thing in that allows stakeholders to extract value from policy holders in exchange for truncated service.

[taskmasterlax]

It is ironic how the same people "right wingers" who bang on about a United America are the same people who actively promote policies such as these which can only serve to be divisive on a societal level.

If the rich can afford healthcare which the poor cannot afford to the same level, we should be striving to close that gap not accentuate it.

If you want a truly cohesive society, the government must atleast appear to be attempting to make its people equal. capitalism is crisis and conflict.

[acfromnh]

Mr. Goldhill makes so much sense. The concept of insurance is so distorted by govt playing to our fears. Despite working in healthcare I was unecessarily exposed exposed to a radioactive iodine test before finding from a specialist that it was unncessary, added no information to my diagnosis or treatment. However, I had insurance which covered it. In my ignorance I didn'tt question why it was done. It wasn't until I read on the internet about my disease that I found it was unnecessary.

[JackBlair2]

Why not food and water insurance?  Answer - we don't need it. Prices ensure that these things get to us. Why should it be different with health care?

[tekany]

David Goldhill says "... hasn't occurred anywhere else in our economy," regarding healthcare unrelenting increases in cost. This isn't completely true. Two things in our economy fail to provide increases in economic efficiency with technological advancement. Healthcare and government have an insatiable appetite for private and public funds.

[EvilIslamMustDie]

@tekany Health care has been undermined through government intervention so they could push socialized medicine on us.

[taskmasterlax]

this guy is so far off the mark its unbelievable. Free health care at the point of receiving it should be a basic right for all people in the entire world. A persons health is far too important to be left to the ravages of the so called "free market".

i Honestly can't see why anyone left or right wing would say that this is not an ideal worth aiming for.

[msbensucks]

You cant see why? ill tell you why.

Money.

[An0nEeMouse]

Because it makes people poorer, less free and less healthy. Here in the UK we know this well enough. America has the chance not to go down the road we have and save its healthcare system instead of ruining it.

[taskmasterlax]

I also live in the UK. You can't seriously think their healthcare is better than ours. Why do you think they are trying to reform it to make it more like ours?

[An0nEeMouse]

Because those drafting/supporting the bills going through Congress are as wrong-headed as most British politicians.

[JackBlair2]

You are making his point. We have treated health care as if it's so different from anything else that has costs and prices associated with it.

We can change the price of health care (for example, make it "free"), but there is no way to eliminate the COSTS.

[xdhawkii]

A "right" by definition is a claim guaranteed by government. This is fine when that claim is philosophical (e.g. right to free speech, freedom of religion, freedom from discrimination, etc) but when you claim something tangible, like healthcare, as a right then someone else gets stuck providing it whether they want to or not which is a violation of THEIR freedom. Enslaving people through taxes (taxpayer) or regulation (healthcare providers) is a violation of human rights.

[taskmasterlax]

So instead we should let people who have never had the opportunity to be able to provide for themselves be uncared for in their time of need? What about their right to be free of poverty?

"Enslaving" those who can afford to pay significant taxes to subsidise health care for all is a far lesser impingement of an individuals rights than is dooming poorer people to an early grave through an econonomic and cultural system which deprives its poorest both materially, intellectually and culturally.

[xdhawkii]

There is no right to be free from poverty. But we should help people in their time of need. The US donates more time, and money to charity than any nation on Earth. People should help each other because they feel it is right; not by force. In the US poor people can pull themselves from poverty through education. It happens everyday; look at Barack Obama or a dozen more other US presidents that were born into poverty. Many people in the US pull themselves out of poverty thanks to the system

[BottleCapsound]

stupid fucking communist

leave my country

[msbensucks]

You telling people to leave doesnt make you an american, it makes you stupid.

[BigBuckBunny420]

Why wouldn't 'Food & Shelter' be considered an entitlement before medicine... where's their priorities?

HeHe

[taskmasterlax]

food and shelter is considered an entitlement in all civilized countries...........

[BigBuckBunny420]

Wake up... you are dreaming.

Good luck proving that theory!

[W3ntFromPCtoMac]

health care is not what we need. besides the guy looks like he's somewhere in between 50 and 60 years old... his dad was most likely around 70 to 80 years old... that means there is very little that they could do to help the poor guy: for being that old, you will not react the same a younger person would to medications, your most likely to get sick at that age for you would have a lower immune system. so he cant argue that. he's literally beating a dead horse.

[utoobsta]

Interestingly, years ago, I had United HealthCare and I had a hard time finding doctors that accepted the insurance. The docs didn't feel UH compensated enough. In recent years, thousands of state workers had to change from Blue Cross to UH. I have no problem finding a doc, who accepts the insurance.

[pythos82]

If we could get grocery insurance we would all be eating steak and lobster every night.

[T33Bon35]

The free market doesn't solve this. Even if insurance companies wanted to, they can't. If AIG decided to start covering pre-existing conditions just to appease the masses, then all patients with pre-existing conditions would flock to them. Their costs would skyrocket and to offset those costs would be to raise the cost of insurance for everyone to spread the risk, which forces some patients out which would solve nothing. There is no financial incentive to provide this service commercially.

[GoldofOphir]

I'm not sure what you mean - It seems like you are contradictory - the fact that insurance companies do not cover pre-existing conditions incentivizes the individual to have insurance beforehand. That is a free market solution.

Would you force car insurance companies to cover accidents that happened 10 days before the policy became active? If that was the case, who would buy the insurance until they needed it?

More government is not what is needed in Health Insurance. Less is.

[tmorvant]

No, I am not contradictory. While what you say is true, it does provide incentive to get insurance prior to developing some issue or another, but you are unable to leave the current provider since no other company will cover you. I held your opinion before I found myself without a job due to layoffs and couldn't afford the Cobra for 9 months. I could only imagine what would happen if someone developed an illness that lasted for the remainder of their lives.

[ebounding]

Insurance companies are wary of those with pre-existing conditions because it is generally illegal to charge those people more when they come down with a chronic illness.

There are free-market solutions that would make those with pre-existing conditions desirable to insure.

Google "health status insurance".

[tmorvant]

Additional premiums to cover theoretical increases in premiums at a later date. With insurance companies at both ends determining costs, where should I expect the reduction to come from? What about hard working families that are living paycheck to paycheck? The industry has either been unable or unwilling to control costs over time. I pay 3 times more for health insurance now than I did 10 years ago and I do not have any better coverage. Why can't they compete with the govt?

[jetrpg22]

@T33Bon35 that is not what that said at all.

It premise is throwing money at something fixes nothing and health insurance should only cover big operations. (IE u got cancer, by pass surgery etc)

So general doctor visits should be payed out of pocket by all , etc etc. Minor tests pocket etc, and this would drive down costs. He is correct also, im not sure if its the most healthy thing to do but as far as cost go it drop them down to a 1/4 of the current price.

[hoppinglark]

WOW, I was just saying the same thing to some friends! The employer is the customer, but "You" are the patient, so customer service does not improve.

The complete lack of feedback by the almighty dollar prevents progress.

[tylerdurdenLLC]

health care wouldn't cost so much if we exercised, slept, ate well and realized that we determine our health quality and that we aren't destined to be on a ton of pills because we do what we want and not what we need. technologically impoverished people without the dangers of industrial toxicity live very very long in very good shape because of simple and nutritious diets and activity.

[hoppinglark]

You are ignoring the fact that people live longer now than they used to.

Prior to the 20th Century a patient with Diabetes Mellitus would not live longer than 15 years or so. Now they can live a full life. So these patients live longer, but now we know about all sorts of related problems- that cost money. High blood pressue is now treated when it used to be considered just a symptom of aging. Treatments cost money. Just two of many examples.

[freesk8]

Yay, Cato!

I hope this video gets lots of views.

[boxant]

Great video, great message.