Posted on 03/14/2022 10:55:06 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Frustrated by how much they were paying for health care, two groups of California workers sued one of the nation’s largest hospital systems. One group secured a half-billion-dollar settlement. The other lost in court.
Both cases took nearly a decade to resolve, highlighting the difficulty patients and their employers often face when trying to corral the ever-increasing costs of health care.
Now, instead of relying on the market or the courts to keep health care prices in check, California Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to order the state’s hospitals, doctors’ offices and insurance companies to keep their costs below a certain level. If they don’t, the state could impose a hefty fine.
That’s the goal of the proposed Office of Health Care Affordability, part of Newsom’s $286.4 billion budget proposal. At least four other states — Massachusetts, Maryland, Rhode Island and Oregon — have similar offices. But none is as comprehensive as the one proposed in California. The big difference: California would be more willing to punish companies that charge too much.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
A new office? Yeah, that’ll work.
I’m crying in cynicism...another bureaucracy
It’s called ‘rationing’ for the fools who didn’t listen years ago when warned to keep government out of the medical arena.
You know, this might be a counterexample to a prime rule of the multiverse: “The left effs up everything it touches.”
But the left has already touched health care (and pretty much everything else) in Third-World-fornia. Ergo, health care has already been ruined.
But, can one re-ruin a ruined thing?
Because it is a long-proven fact that more bureaucrats and more bureaucracy always leads to lower costs...
Let's jar your memories here folks. Welcome the 2022 version of the "Death Panel".
This is nothing more than setting price controls. Price controls work well until they don’t. Then the house of cards collapses, and there are permanent, widespread shortages.
But please don’t worry, California politicians. You will always get the best of care even if the average taxpayers don’t.
That means Healthcare coast will now triple.....................
They really are this stupid and incompetent.
You can strike the word ‘costs’ from the headline.
When it comes to health care prices, patients and their employers have little negotiating power. Patients often don’t know how much a procedure or treatment will cost until after it’s done.
Of course, introducing competition and price transparency is out of the question, as there is insufficient opportunit for graft in a properly functioning market.
Sorry stupid gringo. The illegal is the new American. Back of the line chump.
Didnt some former President do something that made hospitals disclose their prices up front ?
I wonder how that is going.
California aims to limit health care costs with new office
Because it is a long-proven fact that more bureaucrats and more bureaucracy always leads to lower costs...
Once upon a time, the government had a vast scrapyard in the middle of a desert.
Congress said, “Someone may steal from it at night.” So they created a night watchman position and hired a person for the job.
Then Congress said, “How does the watchman do his job without instruction?” So they created a planning department and hired two people, one person to write the instructions, and one person to do time studies.
Then Congress said, “How will we know the night watchman is doing the tasks correctly?” So they created a Quality Control department and hired two people. One was to do the studies and one was to write the reports.
Then Congress said, “How are these people going to get paid?” So they created two positions: a time-keeper and a payroll officer, then hired two people.
Then Congress said, “Who will be accountable for all of these people?” So they created an administrative section and hired three people, an Administrative Officer, Assistant Administrative Officer, and a Legal Secretary.
Then Congress said, “We have had this command in operation for one year, and we are $918,000 over budget, we must cut back.” So they laid off the night watchman.
NOW, slowly, let it sink in.
Quietly, we go like sheep to the slaughter. Does anybody remember the reason given for the establishment of the DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY during the Carter administration?
Anybody? Anything? Anyone? No? Didn’t think so!
Bottom line is, we’ve spent several hundred billion dollars in support of an agency, the reason for which very few people who read this can remember!
Ready??
It was very simple... and at the time, everybody thought it very appropriate.
The Department of Energy was instituted on 8/04/1977, TO LESSEN OUR DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL.
Hey, pretty efficient, huh???
The problem with price transparency and competition is they do not work the same way in healthcare as other markets.
Competition in healthcare (hospitals) requires a hospital to have the same diagnostic equipment and services as the other Hospital. Price has nothing to do with it, just where can I get the best service.
Price transparency is also a false flag. Most people go where their insurer has a contract, including Medicare and Medicaid. The patient could care less about the prices since they are not paying them.
An the problem with higher prices is the insurance contracting, including Medicare and Medicaid. Hospitals need to make a profit to pay for rising prices, new technology, higher wages, building replacement that is much higher than depreciation, and new services Without a profit the hospital eventually goes broke. so the contracts that are negotiated are trying to get to the marginal cost of the contract not average cost. Someone has to pay for overhead costs.
Another dilemma is the use of the term ‘costs’. Are they talking about charges that hospitals need to maintain operations? or are they talking about the costs that hospitals pay out for good and services? Vastly different numbers.
Charges are inflated to cover the costs not covered by primarily government payor, i.e. Medicare and Medicaid. Medicare pays about 45%, or less of what the hospital charges. Medicaid pays about 25% of charges. This shortfall is made up by charging even higher prices to insurance companies and self-pay. Insurance co. contract so as to lower their cost burden thus shifting the cost to the no contracted insurance co. and to self pay.
This has been going on since Medicare/Medicaid came into existence and has been ignored by everyone since.
get rid of Medicare/Medicaid, and the subsequent beaurocracies and prices will drop. Let the market do it’s job.
“Government” and “Affordability” should never, EVER be used in the same sentence. You can have one or the other but not both.
Welcome the 2022 version of the “Death Panel”.
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I agree.
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