A law should be passed that does two things:
- Prohibit the government from setting prices of medical procedures and care, as it does now
- Prohibit medical providers (doctors, hospitals and so on) from charging different amounts to different customers for the same procedure, as they do now
This law would have both positive and negative effects. Positive:
- Prices would more accurately reflect true costs
- Uninsured people would not pay artificially inflated prices
- It would be easier for everybody to shop around to find the best prices . . .
- . . . which would drive prices down
- Providers would not need to turn away Medicare and Medicaid patients in order to stay in business
Negative:
- Insurance companies would not be able to negotiate for group discounts (which aren't really discounts; the "normal" price the uninsured (don't) pay is increased and the "discount" is the previous "normal")
- The constitutional basis for regulating prices federally is shaky (I realize that Congress disagrees)
- Medicare and Medicaid would need new methods to determine what procedures to pay for
Have I missed any?
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