Replies to post #79940 on Biotech Values

[turtlepower]

OT - Government health care
I'm not blade but I have to interject. The idea of profit/loss in healthcare is partially absurd. If I break my leg because I slipped on a banana peel dropped by someone else I shouldn't have to pay 30-40 K for it and this is what will happen with private healthcare. There has to be a choice. Government health care is not going to be flashy like private healthcare. The hospital room is likely not going to have an LCD TV and the nurse is probably not going to be blonde and busty. Hopefully the doctor will be paid well enough to do the job properly. With private healthcare if you pay more you will likely get a room with an LCD TV and a hot nurse (or not). Its like buying an expensive iphone vs a cheap ericcson phone. You have a choice on what level of luxury you want. If everyone wants cheap healthcare then yes private companies would run out of money but if a portion of the population doesn't mind paying extra for the perks that come with private healthcare then they will stay with private healthcare and priavte healthcare will make money out of that select population. Using my previous analogy, if everyone wants a cheap erricson phone then Apple would lose money as well.

Its about having a choice. And when it comes to healthcare you absolutely need to have a choice.

[poorgradstudent]

OT:

Insurance companies increase their profits by two mechanisms:

1) charge people more for the same service (increase income)
2) remove unprofitable people from their service (reduce costs)

Note what is missing here for the health insurance industry, and is generally the third pillar of increasing profits: true innovation. Health insurance companies are not a meaningful capitalist venture (currently) because their method of true innovation is practically nonexistant (they don't make drugs, nor do they run meaningful trials to test ways to improve public health). In fact, their practiced means of innovation (increasing 1 and 2 above) actually works against the health of the population at large.

It's ironic to see pro-market people fighting for industries that do not increase innovation.