alt Hacker NewsMRIs only cost that much in the US[0](2015 prices: $1,145 in America and $138 in Switzerland), everything is inexplicably ten fold more expensive here. That more expensive care doesn't result in ten fold better outcomes as all the health measures you can find indicate. That's the root of the problem and the thing is no politician[1] is really willing to address it and they don't really cover it clearly on the news[2], I wonder why?
[0]https://www.vox.com/2014/9/4/6104533/the-125-percent-solutio...
[1]https://www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying/industries/summ...
[2]https://www.fiercepharma.com/marketing/hey-big-spenders-phar...
Replies
the overutilization story is what explains this, you cannot simply walk into Switzerland and say "I want an MRI here is my $138", but that is essentially what you can do (delta a bit of doctor shopping) in the US. there also is a lot of bad price transparency in the US so the listed price is not the price ended up paying, again this is due to the problem I identified above about shielding costs.
Correct, you have identified the problem. Prices are high because there is no agent in the US system looking to allocate spending on the basis of cost and health returns. The closest we come is the much hated insurance denials.