That sounds fine on paper but does tends to cause overuse of the resource. People don’t value what they get cheaply or free. I belive NHS from UK is facing a similar problem.
"overuse" is a tricky word to use here. Are we concerned about patients getting too much "good healthcare" without being adequately grateful for it? Should we give them "adequate healthcare" instead? Or maybe "barely adequate", so that they know what they're missing?
You're probably thinking more along the lines of unnecessary tests being performed, or prescribing drugs "just in case". I have a dermatologist near me who I like and who is widely known, but every time I see her if she prescribes one drug for me, she prescribes 1 or 2 others as well for the exact same thing.
I believe that this sort of waste comes partly from a financial incentive (line items on insurance claims, or justification for them, and in my dermatologist's case kickbacks from drug companies), and partly from as a defense against being accused of malpractice. It could also be simple laziness too: order a test and let the lab try to figure out a diagnosis.
Any major overhaul of the healthcare system along the lines I proposed would need to deal with these issues as well. The financial and malpractice incentives could probably be eliminated. Maybe laziness too, assuming doctors had to get annual reviews for salary adjustments, just like everyone else.
You're probably thinking more along the lines of unnecessary tests being performed, or prescribing drugs "just in case". I have a dermatologist near me who I like and who is widely known, but every time I see her if she prescribes one drug for me, she prescribes 1 or 2 others as well for the exact same thing.
I believe that this sort of waste comes partly from a financial incentive (line items on insurance claims, or justification for them, and in my dermatologist's case kickbacks from drug companies), and partly from as a defense against being accused of malpractice. It could also be simple laziness too: order a test and let the lab try to figure out a diagnosis.
Any major overhaul of the healthcare system along the lines I proposed would need to deal with these issues as well. The financial and malpractice incentives could probably be eliminated. Maybe laziness too, assuming doctors had to get annual reviews for salary adjustments, just like everyone else.