Until enough customers start asking about the costs, the providers will not have any incentive to provide a rational cost structure.

This is the best way to start to lower the cost of health care for everybody.

But I realized the other day that the money in the account is coming out of the pay check instead of going to insurance it is going directly to the doctor.

I have bargaining power and I didn’t realize it. I need to do more research on what things cost.

This is the direction medicine should go.

petunia on October 22, 2009 at 1:24 PM

Direct payments by responsible individuals bypassing insurance companies and cutting down on their evil profits. You would think the Dems would jump on it.

OK, except for the thinking part, and the individual part, the Dems would ju…

Oh, never mind.

What an Honest President Would Say About Health Reform (2 minute video from 2007)

vs.

The Truth About Public Option (2 minute video 2009)

Which video do you think is more honest?

The HHS probably underestimates the increased demand that will result from imposing comprehensive plans on everyone in the country.

They also don’t consider the reduced supply of doctors, as many will leave the profession and less people will enter it.

1+1=3

The latest HHS analysis on ObamaCare shows that far from containing costs, the proposals for health-care reform on Capitol Hill will actually increase costs, thanks to an entirely predictable response from people with new health insurance. As Ed Morris…

I wish I could have some of their drugs.

drjohn on October 22, 2009 at 1:46 PM

Dr. John, it’s not paid for under Obama Care, only for the Federal employees.

I wish I could have some of their drugs.

…or that’s what Gibbs told me.

They’d better get used to seeing me down at the ol’ ObamaClinic.

They are trying to save Obama now. Healthcare is secondary.

petunia on October 22, 2009 at 1:15 PM

They’ve got to save the filthy lying coward because they’ve so painted him as the face of their party that they own whatever legacy he leaves. That’s why you get stupid statements about how the economy has turned around, how the stimulus is working, how legislatively successful this Congress has been…. Etc.

Next time you’re at the doctor’s office, try to find out how much something costs. My wife tried to find the cost of a mammogram; no one in the office had a clue. I tried to find out what a cholesterol test cost. After a 20 minute wait, they came back and told me to call the laboratory for the costs. It appears that no one knows the costs until the various bills come due and it all percolates to the doctor’s billing office.

Do doctors even shop around for the best deals on labs or other costs? Is there any incentive to do so?

This is crazy. The very existence of insurance today warps the market since there appears to be a wall between the patient (and the possibly the providers) and what the costs are. It makes no sense.

karl9000 on October 22, 2009 at 12:39 PM

So doctors don’t even know what things cost? That’s just great! No wonder cost keep going up!

Health savings accounts are a better option. We have one. And I keep being unhappy because we haven’t reached our deductible and keep having to pay out of the account… But I realized the other day that the money in the account is coming out of the pay check instead of going to insurance it is going directly to the doctor.

I have bargaining power and I didn’t realize it. I need to do more research on what things cost.

This is the direction medicine should go.

Nuff said.

HALLIBURTON!

mankai on October 22, 2009 at 12:44 PM

The favoritism shown the unions and GE should simply put any talk of Halliburton off the table forever.

Corruption your name is Democrat.

Perhaps it’s because the ObamaCare push has always been about ideology over rational policy.

Of course it has always been about control. That being said, I know exactly what the filthy lying coward would tell you. The overall cost goes up but that includes far more insured so, therefore, the cost of healthcare is cheaper even though it is more expensive. And if you don’t follow this line of reasoning you must be a racist or something.

That is what is behind all the suppression of opposition and the propaganda on the government sites.

They are trying to save Obama now. Healthcare is secondary.

And all we’ve seen so far, is that the price for their crap is going to be so off the charts, we’ll all go broke, trying to keep up with paying for this. It’s a no brainer, and most of us know this. Why don’t they? Because IT’S NOT ABOUT HEALTH CARE!!!!!

But never mind, Odinglenuts is going to continue to tell us that up is down, and expect that we’ll be so over-awed by his rather predictable speeches and blue lips that we’ll believe it. It seems he’s impervious to reality.