Rising Health Care Costs + Yasmin Khan

Administrative costs and excessive profits are without a doubt a leading cause in the rising cost of healthcare in the US. It is a known fact the US spends more on health care than any other countries spends, without providing more services than other countries do. So where is the money going?

Some try to justify this difference in many ways. According to the article, “It’s the Prices Stupid: Why the United States is So Different From Other Countires”, one explanation for higher hospital costs is that all the components of providing hospital care in the US – health care workers’ salaries, medical equipment, pharmaceuticals and other supplies – are more expensive than in other countries. Second, it claims that the average US hospital stay could be more intensive than in other countries. Third, is the inefficiency of the health care system compared to other countries. This point eludes to the fact that the US payment system is highly complex and fragmented; greatly contributing to high administrative costs.

While one blogger made the point to adopt a health care system similar to Canada’s to cut costs, one criticism of Canada is that their health care system delivers fewer highly sophisticated procedures than does the US system; with the US conducting four times as many angioplasties per capita and twice the number of kidney dialysis. Although medical necessity is questionable, are we willing to cut down on our highly sophisticated procedures and expertise to cut costs?
Japan’s health care system is definitely one to be admired; being among the least expensive health care systems and providing high levels of CT and MRI scanners. They are able to provide highly sophisticated care at a low cost, making our high costs even harder to justify.

Medicine is a highly specialized profession and if insurance companies continue to pay low fee for services, medical providers are forced to raise those fees. If we continue to allow health care to be driven by the free market, we cannot expect to have an efficient and affordable health care system seen in countries like Canada or Japan.
I think the issue that needs to be raised is accountability. Insurance companies need to be held accountable for their actions what they are doing behind the scenes, similar to the greater need for transparency brought up by Yahaira.