The "emergency" argument against healthcare price transparency is a perfect example of using an emotionally vivid edge case to defend an inefficient status quo.
The vast majority of healthcare services are predictable and schedulable:
- Annual checkups
- Laboratory services
- Diagnostic tests
- Elective procedures
- Ongoing treatment plans
- Physical therapy
- Dental work
- Vision Care
Price opacity serves primarily to:
1. Maintain artificially high prices through information asymmetry.
2. Justify insurance companies as "necessary" intermediaries.
3. Prevent direct physician-patient price competition.
Think of other complex services we manage to price transparently:
- Legal services (hourly rates)
- Construction (detailed estimates)
- Auto repair (parts and labor)
- Higher education (published tuition)
The "but emergencies!" The argument is like saying we shouldn't have restaurant menus because someone might need emergency catering.
Price transparency would likely drive:
- More direct-pay arrangements
- Subscription/membership medical practices
- Cash price competition
- Insurance becoming truly insurance (catastrophic coverage) rather than a payment intermediary
Let’s make healthcare affordable and accessible for everyone, everywhere…
healthcare
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