According to this article efforts to lower commercial health care prices through government price fixing will:
- Lead to lower quality health care
- Reduce local employment
- Cause hospital closures
No one, particularly politicians, wants lower quality health care, reduced local employment and hospital closures. So what’s the solution to solving an unsustainable system that’s bankrupting the American middle class?
The article’s suggestion is to Take a Half Pregnant Tip-Toe-Through-The-Tulips approach. Proceed with a go-slow approach to price regulation by setting high reimbursement caps and lowering them over time to where you wanted them to be in the first place.
“Proceed with a go-slow approach to price regulation by setting high reimbursement caps and lowering them over time to where you wanted to go in the first place.”
That’s sneaky.
There are two universal truths. Change is difficult and there is no such thing as being half pregnant. A half pregnant approach only extends and aggravates any pain associated with change and simply takes longer than necessary to achieve the end goal which is lower health care costs.
The Rip-The-Band-Aid-Off approach is quicker, temporarily painful and effective.
