1 year ago
This is an sentiment editorial by Robert Hall, a contented creator and tiny concern owner.
Nothing is much captious to semipermanent wellness than having entree to healthcare erstwhile needed. But each jurisdiction astir the satellite implements this process differently. Many countries socialize the outgo of healthcare done the authorities on a sliding standard from full authorities power to backstage marketplace healthcare, with a sprinkle of government-provided wellness security for the mediocre and the elderly.
In the United States, we primarily person a backstage healthcare system. If you person the money, you tin acquisition healthcare services from immoderate work supplier you like. But the occupation successful America isn't a deficiency of healthcare providers; it is however healthcare services are paid for.
When you spot your doctor, you don't cognize however overmuch you volition spend. But if you deliberation astir this for a second, it is precise odd. Can you deliberation of immoderate different work for which you don't cognize however overmuch you volition walk earlier your visit? Hell, adjacent immoderate benignant of estimation would beryllium nice, right?
When you get astatine the doctor's office, you typically manus implicit your wellness security paper and wage a copay. Do you cognize what a copay oregon coinsurance is and however it functions? Not galore radical do. All that astir radical cognize is that you manus implicit a card, wage a nominal interest and person services.
After services are rendered, your doctor's bureau volition nonstop a assertion to your wellness security institution to beryllium paid out. Once the assertion has been paid out, you indispensable wage the remainder if determination is simply a balance. Typically this happens months later, and by this point, you whitethorn not person the wealth to wage the balance.
How insane is this? Not lone are you deed with a astonishment measure that has yet to beryllium budgeted for, but healthcare providers are besides having trouble finding qualified unit to process payments. The authorities besides passed the No Surprises Act past year, making receiving payments adjacent much cumbersome for healthcare providers.
Why bash we request 3rd parties to wage aesculapian bills successful the archetypal place? Imagine having your car security institution wage to capable up your state tank. Weird, right?
Did you cognize that successful 2021, 20% of Americans had aesculapian debt, and 58% of bills successful collections were for aesculapian debt?
As you tin see, radical are struggling with aesculapian debt, which has a cascading effect connected healthcare providers. Healthcare providers are losing gross erstwhile their patients don't wage and person to rise prices to marque the difference. Does the healthcare user spot a emergence successful prices directly? No, the wellness security companies spot the summation successful outgo to supply services.
This summation successful the terms of healthcare goods and services is reflected successful the terms that is paid for wellness insurance. The emblematic American household spends $22,221 on wellness security each year. I don't cognize astir you, but this is simply a batch of money. Imagine what you could bash with $22,221 successful your pocket.
The concern becomes troubling erstwhile considering the national authorities and however overmuch it pays for healthcare.
Medicare is projected to beryllium insolvent by the twelvemonth 2026. That is simply a specified 3 years from now, yet nary 1 is talking astir this successful the media, and nary 1 importantly campaigned connected this during the election. Medicare provides wellness sum for 63 cardinal seniors and disabled Americans.
What volition they bash erstwhile the authorities runs retired of wealth to supply healthcare sum to this population? As of 2021, growth successful Medicare spending had averaged 7.6% for the erstwhile 5 years and volition not beryllium slowing down anytime soon. This is simply a slow-motion bid wreck amid an already breached healthcare system.
The strategy is breached and needs to alteration earlier it implodes and takes everyone down with it. How tin we alteration the healthcare strategy to 1 based connected escaped marketplace principles portion helping healthcare work providers turn gross and little costs for their patients?
Bitcoin To The Rescue
Imagine a satellite wherever you cognize however overmuch your aesculapian bills volition beryllium earlier services are rendered. Imagine a satellite wherever you could comparison the prices of antithetic aesculapian procedures successful the aforesaid mode that you tin erstwhile you spell to the market store oregon store connected Amazon.
Bitcoin makes this satellite possible. If the satellite adopted a Bitcoin standard, the mean user would person much purchasing powerfulness to wage for their aesculapian bills. The deflationary quality of Bitcoin makes this possible.
There is lone 21 cardinal bitcoin that volition ever beryllium created. The longer you clasp it, the much it volition summation successful value. The much worth it accrues, the much healthcare services it tin beryllium utilized to purchase. The summation successful worth volition entice much healthcare providers to participate the marketplace and connection their services for bitcoin. More contention betwixt healthcare providers means much entree to healthcare, amended lawsuit work and little prices for all. Are you seeing however this each works now?
Healthcare providers would beryllium incentivized to database the prices of their services successful bitcoin to pull caller patients to their practice.
Typical wellness insurance, wherever the security companies wage the measure for elemental bureau visits, would vanish connected a Bitcoin standard. There would beryllium nary request for it, arsenic consumers would person capable purchasing powerfulness to wage their bills astatine the clip of service.
Lightning Network: A Boon To Healthcare Providers
Running a doctor's bureau is simply a business. There are overhead costs that person to beryllium paid to enactment successful business. Rents indispensable beryllium paid, employees indispensable beryllium paid and supplies indispensable beryllium purchased.
Medical practices tin usage the Lightning Network to person instant colony from their patients and reduce disorder implicit aesculapian billing. Adopting Lightning payments would boost gross and amended currency flow.
This currency travel could beryllium utilized to put successful the business, bargain amended instrumentality and prosecute much staff. Not lone does this payment the company, but amended instrumentality besides leads to amended healthcare outcomes, and much unit leads to amended lawsuit service. High-quality lawsuit work volition summation profitability implicit the agelong term.
According to a caller study, healthcare providers that supply “excellent” lawsuit service reported a nett borderline that was 50% higher than those that supply “average” lawsuit service.
The Lightning Network volition besides little transaction costs for aesculapian practices. Payment processing takes a large chunk of the bottommost enactment for healthcare providers and provides precise small utility. The mean outgo processor charges 1.5% to 3.5%, positive they often institute different confusing formulas to bilk companies retired of their money.
Healthcare providers could prevention wealth connected transaction fees if they switched to the Lightning Network. The mean interest for sending a Lightning outgo is .01%! Plenty of Lightning nodes don't complaint a interest to nonstop a payment. Traditional outgo processors simply can't vie with this.
Healthcare providers should power to a Bitcoin modular and usage the Lightning Network arsenic soon arsenic possible, and ticker their businesses transform. It volition beryllium bully for them, their patients and the economy.
This is simply a impermanent station by Robert Hall. Opinions expressed are wholly their ain and bash not needfully bespeak those of BTC Inc oregon Bitcoin Magazine.
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