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Politics : Actual left/right wing discussion -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lazarus_Long who wrote (176)	9/6/2006 11:50:28 PM
From: cirrus	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 10087

Free markets require that both parties to a transaction be free to accept or reject the transaction. In situations where one party has an unfair advantage governments act to restore the balance. That's why monopolies are broken - or in the case of public utilities, for example, - regulated. If you're injured in a car accident and are rushed to a hospital what bargaining power do you have? Very little. In answer to your question, what the seller paid for a house is a matter of public record. My newspaper publishes real estate transactions daily. Auto "dealer cost" is also easily available from many sources. Those transactions are pretty much fair between the buyer and sellers. Your example of a hospital settling a $50,000 bill for $8,000 suggests something is seriously amok in the health care system. Everyone gives discounts, but that much? Would you buy a $50,000 car from a dealer for $8,000? Perhaps, but you would probably think "scam" and check to see if the engine was included. If the car were only worth $8,000 in the first place but the dealer had a $50,000 tag on it you would no doubt question the dealers ethics.

To: Lazarus_Long who wrote (176)	9/27/2006 10:49:53 AM
From: cirrus	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 10087

Intel Chair Blasts Health Care System By MATTHEW PERRONE AP Business Writer © 2006 The Associated Press Sept. 26, 2006, 1:23PM WASHINGTON — Intel Corp. Chairman Craig R. Barrett warned Tuesday that U.S. jobs will continue to move offshore at a rapid pace unless corporate America exerts its purchasing power to force the health care industry to adopt competitive quality standards. "Every job that can be moved out of the United States will be moved out ... because of health care costs," which averaged more than $6,000 per person in 2004, Barrett said at a conference sponsored by eHealth Initiative, a non-profit coalition of health information technology interest groups. Employers should demand that hospitals adopt standardized record systems to lower costs or take their company's business elsewhere, Barrett told a crowd of 400 at a hotel ballroom. "The (health care) system is out of control, it's unstable, it's basically bankrupt, it gets worse each year and all we do is tinker around the edges when what we need are major fixes," Barrett said, adding that health care costs make it increasingly difficult for U.S. companies to compete with rivals abroad. The speech came on the same day the Kaiser Family Foundation reported that health care premiums rose at a 7.7 percent annual rate last year, double the pace of consumer inflation. Barrett said companies should only do business with health care providers who meet certain standards, including fully electronic patient records and published "best practices" for patient treatment. Hospital networks could and should be transformed into "competitive centers for excellence" that are paid to keep employees healthy. These "health marts," Barrett said, would compete for companies' business by offering the best treatments at the lowest price. Intel recently collaborated with fellow high-tech companies Cisco Systems Inc. and Oracle Corp. on a pilot program where health care providers are paid for the quality of their care to employees. Barrett was joined on-stage by Wal-Mart Executive Vice President Linda Dillman. He said the health care industry could learn from the efficiency of the retail giant, which tracks every item in inventory using computers. "Every other industry has adopted this technology and (the health care) industry continues to sit here and debate," Barrett said. chron.com