Let’s look at health care in terms of supply & demand. The definition of elasticity is elasticity= (change in demand)/ (the change in price) or (elasticity) /(change in demand) = (the change in price), thus if change in demand = 0 then change in price = infinity. Since there is not infant money health cost clearly can’t equal infinity, but they can approach it. Mathematically cost increasing infinity would mean there is exponential rate of increase, and that is exactly what the data shows occurring, see graph below. It is possible for policies to temporarily reduce the rate of increase, but healthcare costs can never truly be controlled in this manor. It is impossible to control the cost of healthcare so long as it remains in the open market; the laws of supply and demand will inevitably push health care costs upwards towards infinity. The only solution is a system where market pressures do not affect healthcare costs, meaning a single payer system or something similar to it.
Let’s look at what that means in reality. Individuals never, or almost never truly pay for their own health care; a situation which is inevitable when you have a vertical demand curve. So who does pay for it? If you have health insurance from your employer they pay for it. If you don’t you’ll probably clear out your bank account pretty (*)(*)(*)(*) fast, and start relying on credit cards or loans. Chances are you’ll borrow all the money you possibly can based on your credit rating, although you have no way in hell of every paying it back. Sometimes you borrow more than you would expect to make in a life-time, putting much of it on credit cards or pay a high interest rate because your credit will probably go down the drain pretty quick, but many of people get loans from a bank at least to start using their house as collateral. Then you’re so far in debt you have no choice but to declare bankruptcy, by that point you have no or few assets left, so the bank or your credit card company ends up paying the bill. The people who do have the kind of money it requires to pay for their own health care almost always have it invested in the stock market, and take the money from there, then start borrowing money. You cannot get blood from a stone – individuals almost never have the money it takes to pay for their own health care.
If individuals aren’t really paying for healthcare, the money just passes through their hands as it goes from one point in the economy to another, who is really paying for healthcare? The answer is Visa, banks, and corporations. The result is increased interest rates, which reduces investment and slows the economy overall. We are already paying for health care collectively, the money is essentially being deducted out of the economy at random, and often from the places which are far more likely to cause an economic slow down than if the money were taken out of the economy in rational & predictable fashion, i.e. banks. Excessive healthcare costs increase interest rates outside Federal Reserves control, reduce investment and weaken the economy as a whole. Using taxes to pay for health care is better for the economy because the taxes can be structured to take the same amount of money from the economy but it would allow control over where and how this money is deducted out of the economy, to minimizing it’s effect on the economy at large.
A divide by zero equations in such a crucial sector of our economy is extremely destructive both socially & economically; as is seen in the level of medical bankruptcies and the humanitarian crisis which our health care system has created. So long as we’re paying the most per capita for health care in the world we should all have the best care in the world, not the worst.

Attached Files

health_care_costs.xls (21.5 KB, 0 views)

Hmm..interesting formula. I like the laws of probability. I'll bet, if you (or Mr. (SICKO) Moore have a critical health issue, my numbers say you'll both go straight to "the worst" . Wanna bet?