Me, I suspect that Anthem’s decision to back down on its announced anesthesia time limit has more to do with Thompson getting gunned than all the whinging on Bluesky.
So long as we have more effort to extract dollars, and more people/companies trying to extract those dollars than those who create value and services, we will be faced with this situation. Especially in a country so prone to individuals who see violence as a legitimate option.
The simple fact of the matter is that if a company is profiting--right or wrong--that means those dollars are not going to healthcare and are being instead extracted to pay non-healthcare people; Even--especially--if those dollars arise from finding legitimate efficiencies or curb unnecessary spending.
It's nice, and in normal business reasonable and commendable, to profit in that way. But healthcare is so different from a normal business market that such rules really don't and should not apply. And I'm all in favor of markets and private industry--but I'm also in favor of using the right too for the job, and that includes economic structures.
Any push to single-payer, especially a government run single-payer is going to be met with "SOCIALISM!" "DON'T TRUST GOVERNMENT BUREAUCRACY" and all of that--applying an ideological lens to a problem that really requires an honest look at the data. And there is plenty of data out there, and it's long past high time we started looking at it, rather than just the typical legislative delays and devolving shouting matches.
Spent 35 years representing hospitals and providers trying to get paid by public and private payers. Abhorrent that I made a good living doing this. Unfortunately, "best practices" frequently means more standardization, less consideration of individual circumstances, more intractible "policies and procedures",.and "efficiencies" that go to stockholders and execs not the insured. Curious when the last time you tried to deal with your insurers as a "normal person" and talk to someone who could actually resolve a problem without leveraging your contacts. You certainly can't get one at UHC.
Me, I suspect that Anthem’s decision to back down on its announced anesthesia time limit has more to do with Thompson getting gunned than all the whinging on Bluesky.
So long as we have more effort to extract dollars, and more people/companies trying to extract those dollars than those who create value and services, we will be faced with this situation. Especially in a country so prone to individuals who see violence as a legitimate option.
The simple fact of the matter is that if a company is profiting--right or wrong--that means those dollars are not going to healthcare and are being instead extracted to pay non-healthcare people; Even--especially--if those dollars arise from finding legitimate efficiencies or curb unnecessary spending.
It's nice, and in normal business reasonable and commendable, to profit in that way. But healthcare is so different from a normal business market that such rules really don't and should not apply. And I'm all in favor of markets and private industry--but I'm also in favor of using the right too for the job, and that includes economic structures.
Any push to single-payer, especially a government run single-payer is going to be met with "SOCIALISM!" "DON'T TRUST GOVERNMENT BUREAUCRACY" and all of that--applying an ideological lens to a problem that really requires an honest look at the data. And there is plenty of data out there, and it's long past high time we started looking at it, rather than just the typical legislative delays and devolving shouting matches.
Spent 35 years representing hospitals and providers trying to get paid by public and private payers. Abhorrent that I made a good living doing this. Unfortunately, "best practices" frequently means more standardization, less consideration of individual circumstances, more intractible "policies and procedures",.and "efficiencies" that go to stockholders and execs not the insured. Curious when the last time you tried to deal with your insurers as a "normal person" and talk to someone who could actually resolve a problem without leveraging your contacts. You certainly can't get one at UHC.