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It is way past time for the semi/tech sector to launch serious moves in the medical sector, but to do this the government will have to get out of the way. Only the tech sector has perfected "Faster, Better, Cheaper" and the government should realize this as the rest of the world has. If something like this doesn't happen, the tech sector will decline as the medical mess crushes economy after economy. It's way past time for government to get out of the way. The one thing the government has proven is they can waste money, raise costs and stifle innovation and true competition through regulation and taxes. Time to set Silicon Valley, the world's greatest single asset, free to attack a problem that can be solved in some fashion. Silicon Valley is not only about hard tech now, but also social structure with companies like FaceBook.
Aetna tried to blackmail the government to let them form what amounts to a regional monopoly. Pulling out of exchanges has been very clearly identified as retribution. This article rambles around how bad it was for Aetna to be involved in exchanges, but look at the profitability of health insurance companies today. Obamacare slapped a provision on them that they have to actually spend premiums on healthcare - what a concept? Do you know why? Do you know what the margins looked like prior to this?
Private agencies chase profit. The companies are still hugely profitable. Aetna just wanted more and is seeking retribution
It is way past time for the semi/tech sector to launch serious moves in the medical sector
And what do you see as the barrier here, other than some government boogeyman? Because basically your whole post is text stating the government is bad without actually saying anything about what the technology industry can do.
tty2, Yes, our government has gone bad. Our true debt is north of 100 trillion, our medical ranks 37th with the highest cost, our primary and secondary education rank 29th, our military can't win a war and consumes as much money as the next 20 countries combined, we have by far the world's largest prison population with as many prisoners as the police states of Chine and Russia combined at staggering costs and this is just the tip of the iceberg. The time to act is now and SV definitely has it over Washington DC. We also have the two worst candidates in modern history to chose from and corporations have the rights of people, but can't be put to death. I think these problems can be solved, but the first step is to recognize them. If you feel the facts are wrong, state your supporting evidence. Let the facts speak not some government boogeyman phrase tossed around that means nothing without backup.
tty2, As one who has invested in the high six figures in medical through various different angles, I have seen blatant waste, fraud, inefficiency in all phases of medical. Some of my information was from an award winning industrial engineer who worked in the industry. Obama care is an actuarial fraud that added a blank check and the right to unlimited services with virtually no cost control. Almost all medical industries, AMA, nurses unions and other organizationsthat represent labor have driven cost through the roof. I have a friends wife who works as a room cleaner in a hospital and has a pay and benefit package north of 60k a year when a cleaner in a top hotel will earn half that. The industry is corrupt top to bottom, side to side. Everybody is plucking the golden goose. Chiropractors lobbied to be recognized as doctors and have really been billing insurance companies for things that weren't covered before. Everyone wants a free lunch and no one wants to pay for it. Almost everyone is guilty of jacking up costs and wants someone else to pay the bill.
PS A fortune is now spent on medical advertising for every phase of medial at tremendous cost. I had a two hour basic out patient simple, basic surgery. The so called bill came to 33k. How do you get to 16k an hour for very basic surgery? Ik and hour for the doctor, a doctor for anesthesia and a helper nurse, plus 1k an hour for the room. It's organized theft at every level permitted and set up by corruption at every step of the way.
Yeah it's funny how countries like Canada, the UK, and Denmark don't end up spending that much for healthcare (accounting for total costs, including taxes)
But again, do you have any specific point to make about the tech sector, or is this just a generic complaint about the US government/healthcare?
It's all related. Almost everything the government touches is tainted by a level of corruption unparalleled in the world. When a major bank robber asked why he robbed banks, he replied "That's where the money is". The US is still the wealthiest country in absolute terms and that's why it attracts corruption and thievery. But it is subtle, your must label yourself a hero or saint and it makes the theft so much easier. A soldier that can't win a war and makes enemies, a teacher that can barely teach, a medical system that is just one step short of theft and onward. In SV if you don't show constantly accelerating results you fall behind and the valley (it's an attitude, as much as a place) is the ultimate in Darwinian selection and companies rise and fall to prove it. The government has bred inflexibility in itself and everything it touches in a pay to play system that has only gotten worse. All empires have a life cycle, although I hope we can break the mold. We resemble many great empires who collapsed from the inside. We live in a world that demands change with a government workforce that demands rigidity and that is the beginning of the end as we know it. I hope something better replaces it, the alternative is unthinkable.
The Mylan Epipen which cost three dollars to produce with a final sales cost of 274 dollars, then distributors jack it up to 608 dollars for a generic drug and device show just how dysfunctional and insane the whole system has become. Everyone in the supply chain is guilty including the government. I've heard more is spent on advertising than research, although I don't know if it has been confirmed. These are sold as a two pack that cost six dollars to make and by the time it gets to the consumer costs over six hundred dollars. I bet the semi sector would love mark ups of one tenth that amount.
Although Mylan reduced the price of the two pack retail to $300, it's still a fifty to one gross markup through the supply chain. Imagine if the semi sector could even get to on quarter of that. With medical being probably the largest growth market for semis in the future, it will be interesting to see what happens. If semis retain their traditional markup, they could take a large chunk of the medical market and fundamentally change the mix of technologies in medical. Something to think about. This could also force changes in the choices of using semis or chemicals to treat various conditions and diseases.
This election only presents horrible choices or someone that doesn't stand a chance. Campaign contributions have become nothing more than thinly veiled bribes. I don't even know if it's worth voting. I will end up voting for the lesser of two evils. Neither one that stands a chance should even be running. It's a very sad state of affairs. This is why I feel it's time for SV to exercise its power, money and social media to fully expose our political system for the corrupt mess it has become, before it's to late. The countries finances have become a cross between Madoff, Enron and WorldCom.
