Replies to post #2642 on Biotech Values

[rstor1]

+++a) ration health care, or
(b) establish price controls.<<

Unfortunately, we de facto have (a), as there are a lot of uninsured people out there. +++

Not really. Uninsured people usually skip well-care and therapy early in the progress of a condition, but use the health-care system once the condition has become acute. Most often the entry point for them is through the emergency room.

The hospitals treat the condition, at this point a substantially more expensive proposition than if it had been looked at earlier, and bill it. Most often, with the uninsured, they do not get paid. (I believe that the stat is that ~40% of care where the ER is the entry point is written off.)

So the economic burden is passed onto the insured portion of the population.

Regards,
Bob