I'm not saying the ER prices are reasonable, but an ER has to keep a lot of expensive staff and equipment sitting around until they are needed. OK, some ER's they are sitting around. But there is a price to have all that service ready for an emergency.
As for high drug prices like the $60 ibuprofen, you are mainly paying for it to be delivered to you by a nurse.
ER's have an average profitability of 7.8%. Higher than Walmart but lower than Apple. So if they became non-profit in some way, they could cut that percentage of costs. That's some, but still very expensive.
The thing is the "paying for it to be delivered by a nurse" is covered by other things.
There will be a line-item for the ibuprofen itself, there will then (generally) be a separate line item for staff time spent helping you, and there will almost always be another line item for the facility fee.
The nurse's overhead is theoretically included in those latter two line items, so shouldn't _also_ be charged in the ibuprofen line item.
Now, there are logistical concerns that will make the ibuprofen marginally more expensive at an ER than at a clinic, but definitely not $60.
I accept the logic of high drug prices including staffing costs when those staffings costs aren't included in other line items. In most hospital bills, it seems, those staffing costs are already included.
The catch is that on DOD systems, encryption is very difficult to add. That is, to be certified by the NSA and compatible with the military key infrastructure. So its better to avoid mentioning it unless its forced on you. Better is a relative term here. I mean, in terms of cost and effort to add. Not security.
You're waiving encrypted channels around as if it were de facto mandatory. Without knowing the ConOps of the system, how could you possibly conclude that confidentiality was an imperative? Effective acquisition of weapon systems is about balancing budget, schedule, performance, and risk--a lot easier said that done.
California does have some legally guaranteed entitlements if (edit) there is a mass layoff. Apparently like this case if a company just goes under with no money left that doesn't apply. What is the situation in Europe? The healthcare continues, but if a company has no money who pays the entitlements? Do employers have to fund a reserve? Or the govt pays?
In Australia (where I'm from) companies are legally obliged to keep enough cash on hand to cover employee entitlements, which at minimum is pay for the notice period + accrued leave + superannuation (may be more depending on your contract and time served with the company).
Above that, employee entitlements get paid out first in the event of bankruptcy/wind-up (i.e. before any investors or creditors see a cent).
Also, any director of a company that doesn't comply (i.e. keep enough cash on hand) is likely to 1) get banned from being a director of a company, 2) prosecuted, and worst of all 3) get reamed by the tax-office for the amount owing.
Healthcare is almost entirely public here. Employer-provided private health insurance is rare.
question for people who know the subject (from someone who doesn't) : is this paper legit or written by conspiracy minded individuals? I didn't want to say 'nuts'.
the 2nd part is for sure true (they believe it's controlled demolitions, and when you believe something, confirmation bias (https://youarenotsosmart.com/2010/06/23/confirmation-bias/) probably makes you find more and more evidence that prove your belief), and whether it's legit, well, considering who the writers associate with, I would scrutinize their claims more, if finding the truth about this topic really bothered me...
As for high drug prices like the $60 ibuprofen, you are mainly paying for it to be delivered to you by a nurse.
ER's have an average profitability of 7.8%. Higher than Walmart but lower than Apple. So if they became non-profit in some way, they could cut that percentage of costs. That's some, but still very expensive.
https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/7-things-to-kn...