<story><title>Warren Buffett says health care costs are a bigger problem than corporate taxes</title><url>https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/08/business/dealbook/09dealbook-sorkin-warren-buffett.html</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>dalbasal</author><text>I’m not American, but I’ve been hearing about your health system for a several years. Ironically, I know more about it than my own country’s (Ireland).&lt;p&gt;Several years ago, there seemed to be a lot of talk about how much The US spends (private &amp;amp; public) per capita on health. It’s a lot more than everywhere else. This was usually presented in the context of the health care “regime” A UK-esque system, a Swiss-like system, etc.&lt;p&gt;Lately, that comparison seems to come up less. Obama-care, Trump-care or Bernie-care would mostly deal with who pays &amp;amp; how, not how much.&lt;p&gt;The “who pays” question is a favourite ideological one so politicians and commentators are comfortable with it. But, I think the “how much” question is probably the more important one, and the harder one to solve. If the US could get costs down to average European rates, then I’m sure a workable system could be found within the confines of most ideological frameworks.&lt;p&gt;The problem is that getting costs down is almost impossible. Costs are salaries of doctors &amp;amp; nurses, a giant pharmaceutical industry, thousands of radiologists, ultrasound technicians, the machines they use (far more frequently than europeans)…&lt;p&gt;Getting costs down to EU levels would be mean the medical industry shrinks like manufacturing shrunk two generations ago.&lt;p&gt;I don’t have a solution to suggest, but I do suggest toning down the ideological discussion. The problem is more of a technical one.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>TallGuyShort</author><text>Amen! I tend to be more Libertarian than either of the 2 major parties, but I would gladly pay personally for other people&amp;#x27;s health care if it was actually being done rationally. But I&amp;#x27;ve had major problems every time I&amp;#x27;ve seen a doctor my entire adult life, all related to the complexity of the billing, and it got to the point where my biggest health risk was the stress of fighting it. Go for an annual physical: $1200 bill for 2 physicals, blood tests I never got the results for, and a test they never performed. Not covered by insurance because the doctor&amp;#x27;s &amp;quot;wellness check up&amp;quot; wasn&amp;#x27;t the same as the insurance company&amp;#x27;s &amp;quot;annual physical&amp;quot;. Time to resolve: 8 months. Resolution: I paid because the lawyer was going to be more expensive. That&amp;#x27;s not a system I&amp;#x27;m willing to pay for, and it&amp;#x27;s got nothing to do with whether it&amp;#x27;s my social obligation or not.</text></comment>
<story><title>Warren Buffett says health care costs are a bigger problem than corporate taxes</title><url>https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/08/business/dealbook/09dealbook-sorkin-warren-buffett.html</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>dalbasal</author><text>I’m not American, but I’ve been hearing about your health system for a several years. Ironically, I know more about it than my own country’s (Ireland).&lt;p&gt;Several years ago, there seemed to be a lot of talk about how much The US spends (private &amp;amp; public) per capita on health. It’s a lot more than everywhere else. This was usually presented in the context of the health care “regime” A UK-esque system, a Swiss-like system, etc.&lt;p&gt;Lately, that comparison seems to come up less. Obama-care, Trump-care or Bernie-care would mostly deal with who pays &amp;amp; how, not how much.&lt;p&gt;The “who pays” question is a favourite ideological one so politicians and commentators are comfortable with it. But, I think the “how much” question is probably the more important one, and the harder one to solve. If the US could get costs down to average European rates, then I’m sure a workable system could be found within the confines of most ideological frameworks.&lt;p&gt;The problem is that getting costs down is almost impossible. Costs are salaries of doctors &amp;amp; nurses, a giant pharmaceutical industry, thousands of radiologists, ultrasound technicians, the machines they use (far more frequently than europeans)…&lt;p&gt;Getting costs down to EU levels would be mean the medical industry shrinks like manufacturing shrunk two generations ago.&lt;p&gt;I don’t have a solution to suggest, but I do suggest toning down the ideological discussion. The problem is more of a technical one.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>tmaly</author><text>I echoed this idea in a comment yesterday.&lt;p&gt;The medical industry is the only industry with a broad anti-trust exemption.  What this means is that they do not have to publish prices like all other industries.&lt;p&gt;How can one expect to control costs if you cannot even know how much things cost?&lt;p&gt;Removing this anti-trust exemption and allowing the public to see prices for the common procedures would be a good start.</text></comment>