Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by Kapura 4721 days ago
Oh man I want this to be the new norm so bad. The American health care system really needs to be shaken up. Republican dissent in Congress blocked that when Obama was championing it; perhaps the Republican's stated goal of a free market is going to be what affects the change. Where are the free market republicans supporting these practices? Why are they so upset about people coming to work in America but not the fact that hospitals are able to use the insurance system to gouge consumers?

The cited $30,000 surgery costing a fifth of that at the centre makes it well worth the effort to fly from out of state to get your operation on. The old system of charging whatever you can get away with because the patient doesn't have options needs to die a horrible death.
2 comments
kasey_junk 4721 days ago
Um, McCain ran on a platform that would encourage price transparency and insurance portability in 2008.

Also last I checked Obama's health care plan passed and it is all about access to and quality of health insurance. There is no evidence that it will improve price transparency from the providers.

link
antitrust 4721 days ago
> Where are the free market republicans supporting these practices?

Yes, where? You'd think they and the Ron Paul fans would be all over this.

link
jessaustin 4721 days ago
What, you think they'll schedule some elective surgery when they learn of this? People all over the political map have been complaining about healthcare for a long time. I'm surprised you haven't heard any of that.

Seriously, political solutions to this sort of complex problem in the USA are very difficult. Blaming any particular political group for a lack of same is kind of dumb.

If this Dr. Smith is improving the state of healthcare as most comments here seem to indicate, then you'll be scandalized by the Gustave de Molinari quote on his blog. It's more Ron-Paulian than Ron Paul.

link
pekk 4721 days ago
They want the government to play less of a role, not more of one. Regulation of corporations is not something they want. They are mainly for moving power from the federal government to state governments.
link