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7 comments

[–] Sarcastaway 2 points (+2|-0)

Our drug companies are criminal enterprises, and our population is insanely unhealthy. Fix the unhealthy lifestyles of the people, and you take away the leverage of those criminals.

[–] smallpond [OP] 0 points (+0|-0)

I think the study is presenting a point that's independent of the unhealthy lifestyles. An unhealthy lifestyle probably determines how much healthcare is needed, but the article is discussing the cost *per unit *of healthcare.

If the market wasn't rife with "criminal enterprises", you might even expect having an unhealthy population to lead to prices drops through economies of scale.

[–] doggone 1 points (+1|-0)

including higher drug prices, higher salaries for doctors and nurses, higher hospital administration costs and higher prices for many medical services.

Is the suggestion that doctors and staff should take pay cuts?

[–] smallpond [OP] 3 points (+3|-0)

I don't think a reasonable person would conclude that - it's merely a statement of facts. You'd think a natural place to start fixing things up would probably be drug prices and administrational overhead.

For big pharma, it might be reasonable to slander the study by implying that it's attacking pay rates for doctors and nurses.

[–] doggone 2 points (+2|-0)

Drug prices and salaries are listed as a cause. Medical workers migrate to the West due to salaries / standard of living.

High drug prices in the US have been explained as someone needing to pay for development. Addressing "administrative" costs takes money out of the pocket of the worker.

Perhaps drug prices should throughout the world.

[–] smallpond [OP] 2 points (+2|-0)

High drug prices in the US have been explained as someone needing to pay for development.

I have some bridges to sell you later.

Addressing "administrative" costs takes money out of the pocket of the worker.

Addressing administrative bloat could mean killing jobs and systems that are unnecessary while paying those are needed well. That money should be taken from the pockets of workers in useless jobs and returned to those paying too much for healthcare and insurance.