“Everyone involved [in health care in the U.S.] is preparing for an uncertain future by attempting to maximize their advantage at the start, a strategy that pushes everything up. All seem to have absorbed the unspoken central message that the reformed system aims to reduce consumption.” –Jim Jaffe from centeredpolitics.com on one unintended effect of the health-care reform bill: rising costs. But don’t blame it on the bill; it’s a function of something else. More.
“Jonathan Chait gets angry at the way Republicans, who claim to care about the deficit, propose saving money by cutting back on expenditures that are needed to control health costs. Indeed. But there’s a larger dynamic at work here than mere stupidity.” –Paul Krugman, blogging over at The New York Times. More.
“Believe it or not, it is still possible to price-shop medical care — I do it myself, because I have a high deductible health insurance plan under which I pay all but the most bankrupting bills out of pocket. As an example, three x-rays last month of my son’s ankle would have been billed to my insurance company at over $100, but I asked for their cash price and they pulled a separate book from a hidden place under the counter and quoted me $35. I got a 70+% discount merely for caring about the price.” Warren Meyer, in the first of a three-part blog series on forbes.com. More.
