Re:Warren Buffett says health care costs are a bigger proble...
by SilasX on Tuesday May 09, 2017 @06:00PM
(#14304173)
That was basically the conclusion of the widely-circulated SlateStarCodex piece [1] -- that health care (and schooling, and housing) are becoming much more expensive with no clear reason why, and if it weren't so expensive, we would all be in much closer agreement on what problems need fixing and be able to reach a compromise.
SSC in particular noted that it was not any individual salaries that were the problem -- everyone's pay seemed about reasonable. Rather, what made the US so different was how much they had to spend in near-paranoid countermeasures against the dreaded "lawsuits".
That, I think, provided the clearest clue: in Europe, it's near impossible to "sue the school", "sue for malpractice" if they adhered to the regulations, and if you can, the loser pays. On top of that, the state automatically covers the injuries, so it's much less likely for resources to get lost in the black hole of litigation and discovery.
SSC in particular noted that it was not any individual salaries that were the problem -- everyone's pay seemed about reasonable. Rather, what made the US so different was how much they had to spend in near-paranoid countermeasures against the dreaded "lawsuits".
That, I think, provided the clearest clue: in Europe, it's near impossible to "sue the school", "sue for malpractice" if they adhered to the regulations, and if you can, the loser pays. On top of that, the state automatically covers the injuries, so it's much less likely for resources to get lost in the black hole of litigation and discovery.
[1] http://slatestarcodex.com/2017/02/09/considerations-on-cost-...
HN Discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13613687