Eliminating fixed costs: Part I--Health system drivers
Weil, T.P.
Managed Care Interface 15(8): 27-32; 53
2002
ISSN/ISBN: 1096-5645 PMID: 12229063 Document Number: 550042
Americans want less-bureaucratic, higher-quality, and above all, less-costly health care. Reducing the number of nurses, pharmacists, and others who care for patients is not a viable solution; fiscal constraints, which reduce fixed costs, are superior to other options in containing health costs. To this end, it is imperative that the U.S. reimbursement system be simplified. Posing as a major encumbrance are some deeply vested, highly placed self-interests that obstruct implementation of a partly private, partly public reimbursement system that would better serve patients, providers, and insurers. In part I of this two-part article, the author describes some of the drivers that are pushing health care costs to higher levels.