Catastrophic Care Quotes

“We can start the process of reform by being honest with seniors. Many are led to believe that they have somehow paid for their benefits and that they have earned unconstrained Medicare. Yet the average person joining Medicare today has paid roughly $60,000 into the program over their lifetime and will use $170,000 in benefits.”
― David Goldhill, Catastrophic Care: How American Health Care Killed My Father--and How We Can Fix It

“Merely four months before, that same Congress passed the ACA, further expanding our insurance-based system. Yet the practices of “affordable” health care are virtually the same practices now outlawed in mortgage lending: we all make our health care decisions with their financial implications intentionally hidden from us. How”
― David Goldhill, Catastrophic Care: How American Health Care Killed My Father--and How We Can Fix It

“As I’ve explained, prices are the tools by which modern economies allocate resources to match what consumers want, understanding that those wants are constantly changing. And a health care system without prices can’t adjust to changes in our health needs.”
― David Goldhill, Catastrophic Care: How American Health Care Killed My Father--and How We Can Fix It

“A recent Economist article on dialysis perfectly illustrates the inflationary impact of cost-plus pricing. Since U.S. clinics are paid on a cost-plus basis, they prefer to use expensive drugs rather than cheaper ones. In fact, many appear to order drugs in units that exceed what a standard dosage requires because they can charge the government for the wastage. Quoting a stock research firm, the article noted that many clinics preferred an injected drug with a price of $4,100 a year over the identical drug in oral form, priced at only $450 a year. Not surprisingly, the manufacturer of the oral drug responded by increasing its price above that of the injected version to make it more competitive!”
― David Goldhill, Catastrophic Care: How American Health Care Killed My Father--and How We Can Fix It

“But though I admire their intentions and ambitions, I contend that they have missed the big picture: the underlying insurance-based structure of our health care system drives excess treatment, cost inflation, and medical errors. It is this structure that needs to be changed.”
― David Goldhill, Catastrophic Care: How American Health Care Killed My Father--and How We Can Fix It