• BobaFuttbucker
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    2 months ago

    Hospital staff costs alone are not what drives pharma or health insurance prices up, and has nothing to do with how much the executives of those companies make.

    A hospital CEO makes on average about $180k in the US, less than a software developer.

    Other countries without as exploitative of a healthcare system are also able to staff their hospitals and provide healthcare at a lower cost as well, so again your argument doesn’t actually account for the exorbitantly high prices we pay in the US.

    • Neuromancer@lemm.eeOPM
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      2 months ago

      Hospital staff costs alone are not what drives pharma or health insurance prices up

      Yes it does. If the staff cost more; they have to charge more to even break even. That’s simple logic.

      You think wages don’t drive cost of healthcare ?

      • BobaFuttbucker
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        2 months ago

        https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/compensation-issues/11-highest-paid-ceos-in-healthcare.html

        Look at all the profits made in the healthcare industry. That can only be done by making so much money you have at least this much left after paying your staff and expenses.

        Hell of a lot more than simply “breaking even”.

        Then you’ve got what the companies themselves make and it’s disgustingly more:

        https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2024/01/12/unitedhealth-group-profits-hit-23-billion-in-2023/?sh=212f959967ad

        This is why healthcare is so expensive and ineffective in the US. Because the corporations that own everything in the industry set the prices and rake in literally Billions a year from citizens who often can’t afford it or go into massive debt.

        • Neuromancer@lemm.eeOPM
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          2 months ago

          Why are so focused on ceo pay when it’s a drop in the bucket. The first cite has nothing to do with profits.

          2nd cite I pay walled.

          • BobaFuttbucker
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            2 months ago

            I focused on CEO pay to refute your argument that IS Healthcare is so overpriced because of staffing.

            If that were true the CEO wouldn’t be making roughly 200 times the salary of their average employee and could easily mitigate the problem with less bonus/stock options (which are typically the bulk of their compensation).

            Not sure why you’re having issues with the second article. I can get to it just fine with an adblocker and reader mode but you can still get the code argument from the URL and title themselves:

            UnitedHealth Group reported $22 billion in 2023 profits including $5.5 billion in the fourth quarter as its portfolio of health insurance and provider services grew by double-digit percentages.

            • Neuromancer@lemm.eeOPM
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              2 months ago

              It doesn’t refute that at all. CEO pay is a fraction of total cost. It isn’t the reason why cost are going up and it’s illogical to come to that conciliation. United health group is an insurance provider. You’re confusing health insurance with medical care. Health insurance does not provide care. They pay the bills.

              Their revenue was 370 billion. 22 billion is about 8% profit which is slim.

              • BobaFuttbucker
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                2 months ago

                I’m not confusing one for another, this entire exchange I’ve been talking about the industry at large. CEO pay was one focus, healthcare wages are another, insurance company profits are something else. It’s all part of the same system that exorbitantly overpriced and very ineffective for the cost.

                $370B = $370B from health expenses……paid by the insured (us).

                8% profit is still $22B. It may be slim compared to revenue but that’s $22B in profit made from citizens who often aren’t even getting the care they’re paying for.

                https://penncapital-star.com/uncategorized/americans-suffer-when-health-insurers-place-profits-over-people/

                Quantifying a qualitative product inevitably leads to a deterioration of the quality of the product.

                  • BobaFuttbucker
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                    2 months ago

                    No, I think we should limit the cost of drugs based solely on cost to manufacture and distribute, and pay those operational costs.

                    I think we should expect to receive healthcare from medical professionals and pay them for their time and operational costs.

                    I think private health insurance existing as an optional, supplemental option is a step in the correct direction.

                    I think profiting off such a system is parasitic to our wellbeing and detrimental to the betterment of society.

                    Ultimately we need to look at healthcare and education as an investment in our country’s well-being.

                    A population that is healthy, educated and safe is a population that is happier, can fight off threats better and innovate more. A country that fails to produce an effective population is not a successful country for long.