ext_29838 ([identity profile] meiczyslaw.livejournal.com) wrote in [personal profile] jducoeur 2010-12-28 06:31 am (UTC)

Interesting. I'd come to some of the same conclusions, but hadn't put them all together as comprehensively as Carroll does. Unfortunately, I think he unintentionally obscures root causes in the way he divides his topics.

One is that the U.S. demands redundancy. You can see it best in his Outpatient Care topic, but it also shows up in Inpatient Care, and in Health Care Workers (both directly, in number of nurses required; and indirectly, from the increased demand for personnel).

The other is market distortions due to the choices of private insurers and the government. It's seen most clearly in Areas of Underspending, but you can also see it in Inpatient and Outpatient Care.

The market distortions could be removed by decentralizing pricing (i.e., get rid of "managed care" altogether), but I think the redundancy is tougher nut to crack. We're asking our hospitals to be able to provide the same quality of care, whether it's located in Boston or Shungnak.

Post a comment in response:

(will be screened)
(will be screened if not validated)
If you don't have an account you can create one now.
HTML doesn't work in the subject.
More info about formatting