markg

A Capitalist Reformation

"and if they continue to rise I will drop them in favor of carrying catastrophic coverage and self-insuring the large deductible to retain disposable income. 20th century capitalism’s greed precluded any meaningful tort reform because it tried to balance both high-quality healthcare and the option to spin the malpractice wheel of fortune. "

I work in the medical device industry, and while I agree with most of what you said, I would add this:

Two problems with this approach, the self insured pay more than the insurers do. If you doubt this stay a couple days in a hospital, and compare the checks you write with the ones Blue Cross would write. Of course the reason for this is the layers of insurers and health management are what is driving medical care upwards. There is a horrendous layer of money management, and the socialization will only add to it.

The costs of equipment, consumables, and direct labor are flat to lower. It's not the cost of healthcare increasing, it's healthcare management.