I’m no expert. But I’ve been working in hospitals since 1975.
I was a CFO for many years and have spent the last 10 years as a CEO of a hospital in a large not for profit system.
I don’t see the health care system collapsing, but it will deteriorate.
It already has deteriorated. We had the greatest healthcare delivery system in the history of the world. Now an incredible amount of what we used to reinvest in infrastructure, clinical equipment, education and basic patient care goes toward the heavy administrative costs necessitated by mandated
compliance with overwhelming state and federal regulations. Articles like those in Time and individual anecdotes whip the public into a frenzy and they buy into the need for this ridiculous over regulated situation.
Healthcare as we know it will never be the same, not because of the docs and those who are operating the hospitals but because of the government.
Not to mention the mountains of paper work the government wants Dr.’s to report. I imagine this will only increase under ZeroTaxCare!
Palio,
Can you confirm one thing for me? How much of what is billed goes to cover Liability insurance and legal expenses?
I believe that Legal costs are the main driver for high costs in Health Care.
Greedy “Victims and Lawyers” are the drivers of health care costs. Doctors practicing defensive medicine as a result of the potential lawsuit for the 1% of bad outcomes drives over use of tests, consumables and expensive equipment.