O/T My opinion, not that of my employer, is that health care costs are driven by the payment systems, primarily, followed by so-called life-style choices. Once upon a time, I had the task of estimating how much Health Care Revenue in the US corresponded to "imaging" services, and believe me, it wasn't a big chunk of the multi-trillion buck spend.
And, I had a vested interest in maximizing the number.
Health care payers employ a LOT of people. Making the payment process simpler / more efficient will involve whacking a lot of them. Hard net tradeoff. Taking away their individual pirate management compensation structures: priceless.
Many states already have laws against self-referral's for imaging and other services.
As for charging more for various chronic conditions, I'd lean much more heavily towards credits for positive activities - gyms, exercise, weight loss / maintenance, smoking cessation, driving records, ...
Now, back to our regularly scheduled top-calling exercise.
Yours in going to cash at just the right moment,
rr
