[andrewlgood]

Free goods have infinite demand. Medicare for All will simply degrade outcomes a lower common denominator. Interestingly, will the government allow private medical practices to exist in a Medicare for All regime? If so, it seems we would simply end up where we are now.

[DonnyV]

With Medicare For All the government would act as an insurer, that is all. All hospital services stay private.

[andrewlgood]

The introduction of high-deductible health care plans has accelerated consumerism (shopping for best deal) in health care delivery driving down costs.

Deloitte study: https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/tr/Documents/...

[andrewlgood]

But it would be paid for by taxes spread across the tax-paying citizens. It would appear to all people in the US that their healthcare is free as they are not directly paying for it. Hence infinite demand.

[sebmellen]

That’s the worst argument I’ve ever heard against Medicare for All.

Rephrased in another way, you’re saying “the plebs are going to get medical treatment and overwhelm the system by doing so if we let them!”

I don’t think there is infinite demand for healthcare as people are not infinitely sick.

[andrewlgood]

But they may be excessively worried that they are sick and demand excess testing and excessive stays in hospitals.

[biaachmonkie]

This isn't a free sandwich promotion that ends with irrational people waiting hours in line! People are not going to go hangout in doctors offices, hospitals, clinics, etc... for fun. Most people that have good insurance, like myself, almost never go to the doctor because it's a pain, not because of a co-pay.

And if by some chance there is a big increase the use of medical care / services ... maybe that's a good thing, that people are going and finding issues before they become severe life threatening issues and everyone saves more overall in the long run. And they have better quality of life and less suffering from going untreated... Did you consider that?

[NoGravitas]

> Free goods have infinite demand.

I, too make unnecessary doctor appointments and hospital trips because my insurance covers them. I've developed a paraphilia for having blood drawn, and I'm considering having some perfectly functional limbs amputated.

[andrewlgood]

Silly response.

One study found 20.6% of overall medical care was unnecessary. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5587107/

Simple example is testing. If free to consumer, they will get too many cat scans and other expensive tests, "just in case."

[coredog64]

Testing is “free” to the provider, so they suggest it just in case.

The much maligned HMO was an early attempt at applying market discipline to medical care. Guess what? People hated it.

[dragonwriter]

> The much maligned HMO was an early attempt at applying market discipline to medical care. Guess what? People hated it.

HMOs remain common, and none of the satsifaction data I can find shows satisfaction with them significantly lower than PPOs or traditional insurance. Not sure why you act like they are something that exist only in the past or universally hated.

[gowld]

>The most common cited reasons for overtreatment were fear of malpractice (84.7%), patient pressure/request (59.0%), and difficulty accessing medical records (38.2%).

so not relevant to this coversation.

[DonnyV]

LOL...love it