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Politics : Arnold for Governor!
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To: Dr. Voodoo who wrote (555)10/9/2003 7:01:43 PM
From: Original Mad Dog  Read Replies (1) of 773
 
It's illegal for them to pay your deductible because your insurance company wants the deductible to deter you from seeking unwanted services. The fear is that if it is absolutely free (i.e., no deductible), people will roll into the doc's office for every sniffle. There is some evidence to bear that out, especially from HMO's that used to try to operate that way.

The problem with healthcare as I see it (and we may even agree here) is that the market is so thoroughly interfered with that the usual consumer/supplier interaction over pricing never occurs. Consumers have become accustomed to thinking of healthcare as "free" or nearly so, and the majority of people therefore don't give a rat's ass if the bill is $100 or $500 as long as their insurance covers most or all of it.

If the insurance system covered nothing until you reached, say, three or four thousand a year in medical expenses, consumers would exert extreme downward pressure on doctor's fees. Wal mart would set up medical "clinics" where a toothless greeter could lead you to a marginally qualified doctor who could dispense routine care for 30 bucks or so. People to whom 30 bucks means a lot would flock there, and other providers would attempt to extract a premium by offering better patient care and a more customer-oriented approach.

That won't happen because we view healthcare as somehow different.
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