[extropy-chat] Who Gets Expensive Treatments Under Socialism?.

[John K Clark]

A much better question is why is health care so fucking expensive? In 1960
the USA spent 5.2% of GNP on health care; by 2004 it had increased to 16 %,
far more than any other country, but Americans are not far healthier than
people from other countries. This trend can not continue nor should it. My
solution could be summed up in one word "deregulation".

You go to the doctor, your appointment is at 10 am so you cool your heals
for 3 hours and at 1 pm he kindly deems to grant you an audience, for about
4 minutes. After you kiss his ring you hurriedly tell him your health
problem while the doctor looks at his watch and glances at you test results,
he then gives you a prescription, a permission to buy a drug, and then he
sends you on your way. You then give the doctor a big fee, go to the drug
store with your permission slip in your hand, and the doctor buys a Ferrari.
This is nuts. Most of the time a nurse or a computer program could diagnose
your problem as well as the highly paid doctor. True you could be suffering
from some extremely rare bizarre ailment that would take a Sherlock Holms
(or a Dr. House) to diagnose, but you know what, you probably aren't. It's
possible those tracks were made by a zebra, but they were probably made by a
horse.

Granted no computer program is (yet) as good at diagnoses as a genius doctor
who is willing to devote significant time thinking about it, but I maintain
a computer program will give at least as good a diagnosis as you are likely
to receive in the real world. I think surgery is the only area where a very
skilled human being is still needed, at least for now.

So to sum up, ALL prescriptions should be over the counter, including
Heroin.

  John K Clark