Why is there a 2nd middleman? The retailer is already a middleman buying in bulk and selling to consumers. If the vaccine costs x amount why not just pay the pharmacy the x instead of the government paying y + x to an insurance company? The insurance company isn’t adding any value to the process. They aren’t coordinating the logistics, they aren’t pushing their users to come in, they aren’t providing anything.
Huh? The person with health insurance has already paid the insurance company. That person owes zero dollars to anyone for the vaccine. The government also is not involved in the transaction. The payment is from the insurance company to the pharmacy.
Insurance does add value. It buffers people from variations in health costs. In the case here of one $200 vaccine dose, sure many people could pay directly. Also many people can’t. In either case that $200 is a barrier to getting vaccinated. It is in society’s interest, our interest, to have high vaccination rates so we try to remove the barriers to getting vaccinated.
I think for profit health insurance is a shitty system but as long as we have this shitty system I want the government to regulate the crap out of those insurers. Like requiring no cost vaccines.
Why is there a 2nd middleman? The retailer is already a middleman buying in bulk and selling to consumers. If the vaccine costs x amount why not just pay the pharmacy the x instead of the government paying y + x to an insurance company? The insurance company isn’t adding any value to the process. They aren’t coordinating the logistics, they aren’t pushing their users to come in, they aren’t providing anything.
Huh? The person with health insurance has already paid the insurance company. That person owes zero dollars to anyone for the vaccine. The government also is not involved in the transaction. The payment is from the insurance company to the pharmacy.
Insurance does add value. It buffers people from variations in health costs. In the case here of one $200 vaccine dose, sure many people could pay directly. Also many people can’t. In either case that $200 is a barrier to getting vaccinated. It is in society’s interest, our interest, to have high vaccination rates so we try to remove the barriers to getting vaccinated.
I think for profit health insurance is a shitty system but as long as we have this shitty system I want the government to regulate the crap out of those insurers. Like requiring no cost vaccines.