It’s an amazing reality when a sentence has “secret prices” and “hospitals” together
and close to one another. The medical industry isn’t a traditional business, mostly
because saving lives is first, and making money should be second. The percentage
the medical industry grabs from the gross domestic product is nearing 20%, which is
triple what it was in the 1960s. In fact more than 1 in 10 people are employed in the
business of keeping us healthy and alive, so someone at the Christmas party is a
Doctor or a Nurse.

Insurance costs are high, prescription costs are high and both industries complain
they are not high enough. The drug marketplace asserts solidly that if the US
government tries to negotiate lower prices, it will put the old kibosh on
pharmaceutical innovation and invention. It’s all a bunch of hogwash.
I have marveled at the drug business for most of my life. First thing that is hard to
believe is that they advertise here. There are only two of 200 countries in the world
that allow drug advertising (the other believe it or not is New Zealand) and we are
one of them. Second thing is that for one “maybe’ that drugs offer; BlankBlanka may
help with your migraines, there are side effects that to me sound worse than the
ailments; like spontaneous discharge, dry mouth, cardiac arrest, stroke or
incontinence.

Medicine must have integrity at its core; patient information, quality of care and
patient outcome and pricing. The idea that blue shield pays one amount and an
underinsured person pays a different amount is beyond me. Finally government sees
fit to fix the problem. It’s about time.

Three facts matter; (1) if you make your income from insurance it will be managed by
the channel that is the payor, (2) If you’re licensed in an industry that serves the public
you have no secrets, and (3) These industries are ones where you “make a little” (i.e.
lower margins than open market businesses) and “sell a lot,” so if that is not
interesting head for the exits.

We need to manage medical and drug expenses in a way that drops the 70 year
upward trend line with what stock market followers would call a “correction” because
no industry can go nowhere but up. It would seem for the first time in generations that
life expectancy is not increasing so we should expect a decrease in rates that mirrors
the results of services.

Be mindful, be watchful and good luck!