[adam_arthur]

Yes, increasing competition will lead to better results for society, in all markets.

Through competitive pressures which drive down cost and encourage increases in quality.

There is very little competitive pressure in healthcare from the consumer due to the issues already mentioned above

[diob]

You're not wrong that competition helps, but you're being naive if you think healthcare is a market, or that it would not eventually be captured like so much else in the USA.

In fact, I think you'll find most of healthcare has already been captured by private equity, resulting in worse outcomes for the both doctors and patients.

[adam_arthur]

Healthcare is inefficient for many reasons, most of which stem from poor laws/controls, lack of individual incentives, and poor transparency. All of which can be solved trivially via well structured laws without radically overhauling the healthcare system.

Protectionism limiting the number of doctors inflates wages, lack of price transparency removes ability to comparison shop, max out of pocket plans remove incentives to consider cost in care. All of these are easy to solve once they're identified and understood as problems.

When you look at disciplines where pricing is transparent and insurance isn't generally involved, like cosmetics/plastic surgery, the costs are quite cheap. Because it actually acts as a competitive market with incentive for consumers to comparison shop

[diob]

Dang, that must be why everyone flies overseas for hair transplants.

Or maybe. . . maybe you're talking out your ass.

https://us-uk.bookimed.com/article/where-to-get-cheap-plasti...

If you're not going to bother to be right about that, I can't take you seriously saying that our situation is trivial to solve, but that also the solutions that work in other countries won't work here. Call be crazy.

[three_seagrass]

Elective plastic surgery is hardly inexpensive in the U.S., or representative of healthcare in general. I don't know why you're so hung up on price transparency, it simply isn't the silver bullet you think it is for reasons repeated throughout this thread.

[throwaway78987]

Bingo