Re:U.S. opens UnitedHealth antitrust probe
by p_l on Wednesday February 28, 2024 @05:15AM
(#39536100)
"Healthcare can't be a free market" is an assertion rooted in sound logic going back at least to Adam Smith.
Making it more transparent won't change it.
Re:U.S. opens UnitedHealth antitrust probe
by AnthonyMouse on Wednesday February 28, 2024 @05:39AM
(#39536307)
"Emergency care can't be a free market" is a reasonable statement provided the customer is the patient and not e.g. an insurer with a contractual obligation to meet a particular emergency response time, who could contract with different emergency services providers in any given area in advance and secure lower pricing by playing two providers who could each meet their emergency response requirements against each other or threatening to enter the market themselves.
"Joint replacements can't be a free market" is simply nonsense.
The US seems to have some sort of racket going on in healthcare. What I've heard about their regulation makes sense if interpreted as a fairly basic system built by lobbyists to extract money from people, using emotional blackmail to break up political opposition. Otherwise it seems a bit silly.