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YC: Requests for Startups

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514 points sarimkx | 2 comments | 14 Feb 24 16:31 UTC | HN request time: 0.454s | source
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codegeek ◴[14 Feb 24 18:04 UTC] No.39372983[source]▶
"ELIMINATING MIDDLEMEN IN HEALTHCARE"

I honestly am game for this even though I have zero experience in healthcare but as a consumer, where do I start how bad it is. I would do anything to change our shitty healthcare system where there are so many middlemen b/w me and my doctor.

Recent event: Went to ER because my toddler son spilled hot coffee on him (thankfully he is ok and wasn't as terrible as it could have been). There was a pediatrician on call who looked at him for like 2 mins and then left. A nurse came in and most of her questions were about "insurance details".

Then they didn't tell me what the heck was going on and after pressing, they said "we are getting stuff for him. wait". Then after almost 1.5 hours of waiting where my son is wailing, they got some bandage (I kid you not) with some Over the counter stuff (bacytracin) and applied it on the burn. Then we went home.

Bill = $2000 after Insurance coverage. Our premium for family is $1800+/month btw . Then there is the deductible. Supposedly, the insurance company only partially approved the claim. Whatever the f that means.

If you don't see a problem with this whole cycle of experience, I don't know what else to say. And no, don't tell me to get better insurance. I want to get rid of all these middlemen mafia.

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lunarboy ◴[14 Feb 24 18:55 UTC] No.39373636[source]▶
Fully agree with the experience, but I don't understand this call to action from a logical point. If you build something to make this better for patients, then... you are the middleman. Sure you might start off with morally good ambitions, but your company has to turn profit to keep running, I feel like you end up in the classic "grow big enough to see yourself become the villain" situation.

The fundamental problem is that the facilitator cannot be a for-profit entity, which is why universal healthcare in other countries are run by the government.

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1. codegeek ◴[14 Feb 24 19:05 UTC] No.39373765[source]▶
SO I am not totally against Universal healthcare idea Heck, anytihng will be worth tyring compared to what we do today. But US is a very large country and we already have Medicare program which is full or fraud and abuse and pork. I am not one of those "GOvt is bad in everything" but I am suspicious of Govt. being able to run most things efficiently.

I personally think if you calculate the cost of healthcare paid by an individual/family to Insurance companies and take most of that way by getting rid of insurance in EVERYTHING, even paying out of pocket for most visits will be cheaper overall. Keep Insurance only for catastrophic stuff like a major illness, accident, surgery, cancer etc.

A good compromise/balance would be "get rid of insurance premiums/deductibles/copays for general stuff" and let people pay out of pocket. Govt can subsidize those who cannot afford even the lower out of pocket costs (may be baswed on income etc).

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2. Ensorceled ◴[14 Feb 24 23:35 UTC] No.39377107[source]▶
> SO I am not totally against Universal healthcare idea Heck, anytihng will be worth tyring compared to what we do today. But US is a very large country and we already have Medicare program which is full or fraud and abuse and pork. I am not one of those "GOvt is bad in everything" but I am suspicious of Govt. being able to run most things efficiently.

US Health care is so massively inefficient (results per dollar per capita) that this reluctance to switch to single payer like the rest of the developed world is a level of cognitive dissonance that continues to flabbergast me.