I’m an economist: My views on how we can make healthcare more affordable

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Millions of Americans are overwhelmed by medical expenses. According to a study by Gallup and West Health, 44% of adults (approximately 112 million people) have difficulty paying for their health care.

Politicians on both sides of the spectrum may differ drastically in their approaches and ideas, but broadly agree that America needs a health care system that works — and that means one that doesn’t drive people into debt because of vital medical costs.

What can our country do to fix this mess for its people? GOBankingRates spoke with Mariano Torras, Professor of Finance and Economics at Adelphi University, to find out what he believes is needed to make healthcare affordable in the US. Find out what he thinks below. Also take a look at the 10 cheapest states for healthcare.

The US healthcare system is “severely dysfunctional”

Torras minced no words in assessing our health care system, calling it “severely dysfunctional.” He believes that’s partly because of how much the U.S. spends on health care but still doesn’t provide as many health benefits to its citizens as other leading nations.

“The United States spends much more per capita on health care than other developed countries, but lags the most in social indicators such as longevity and life expectancy,” Torras said. “The main difference between our system and those of other countries is that our system actually prioritizes profit over people’s health.”

Health insurance must be “true”.

The first step to making health insurance affordable for Americans, Torras says, is to make it “real.” What does that mean?

“Give people more choice and allow them to pay a much lower premium to insure them against unexpected or even catastrophic medical events,” Torras said. “That’s what insurance is for. In this way, the country’s many healthy people would save a lot of money by not paying excessive monthly premiums and instead paying only a minimal out-of-pocket cost for occasional doctor visits, in addition to the much lower premiums that only cover unexpected hospitalizations.”

Limit drug prices

To make health care more affordable, Torras advocates limiting the prices that pharmaceutical companies impose on Americans’ wallets.

“Much (if not most) of the fixed or upfront costs of medical research are funded by the government,” Torras said. “There is therefore no reason that big pharmaceutical companies should charge exorbitant prices for their products, many of which save lives and promote health – basic needs, in other words, not luxuries.”

He continued: “Or if private companies wanted to justify charging consumers higher prices, they should take on more of the uncertainty risk from research rather than letting the public sector fund it.”

Improve incentives for people to become GPs

Some research suggests that we have more than enough non-primary care professionals, but not enough GPs. This creates a problem.

“In our country there is a surplus of specialists and a shortage of general practitioners, and the problem is getting worse,” Torras said. “If the government wants to step in to make things better, rather than subsidize big pharma, it should incentivize careers in internal medicine, which, by emphasizing preventive over curative medicine, will ultimately be far more efficient in terms of costs and benefits is.”

Limit the use of expensive technology

Torras currently believes that the US is spending too much on expensive technology. Of course, technology is important and can make a big difference for patients, but Torras believes some of the expenses are too high and should be curbed.

“Just because there is expensive and sophisticated technology to cure certain diseases does not mean it always needs to be used,” Torras said. “We would save a lot of money if we limited the use to only what is necessary (this is something like the unnecessary use of Smartboards in elementary school classes). The same goes for the over-prescription of antibiotics and other medications, which are not only expensive but also potentially cause major health and environmental problems.”

Focus on preventive medicine

A greater emphasis on preventive medicine — rather than just treatment — could also help reduce health care costs for Americans.

“Design health plans that allow fewer specialist visits unless the internist deems it necessary,” Torras said. “Do the latter need to place much greater emphasis on well-being and nutrition to reduce the incidence of more persistent medical conditions? Enormous sums of money can be saved here. Most ailments do not require expensive treatments, just lifestyle changes. The same goes for recipes; Their use should be significantly restricted.”

Making health care more affordable in the U.S. will take a lot of work and thought, but Torras believes following the five tactics above would save the country — and its people — a lot of money.

“Furthermore, it would be difficult to imagine that national health would not improve significantly if such recommendations were followed,” he said.