Is this what Republicans mean when they talk about competition helping to lower health care costs? This is not a new phenomenon, it is well-known that more physicians and facilities in an area increases health care utilization and does not lower prices.

Likewise, more insurers in an area does not create competition that lowers costs, but rather decreases the leverage insurers have to negotiate fees.

In cities like Miami with a surplus of doctors and facilities, we see twice the number of tests, procedures and hospitalizations than in other communities. Whenever a group is paid to do more, not better, the outcome isn’t hard to predict.

via Atul Gawande And Charles Munger On Why More Health Care Isn’t Better.

If if you think about it, how can there be competition in health care when the buyer of services does not and cannot control the demand for services or the type of services provided (and generally does not want to)?

Patients want immediate care and convenience. To provide that requires an abundance of services and facilities; to be sustained, those facilities must be used.

Think about it‼️