Let's permit Medicaid and Medicare payments to authorized hospitals in India...

... and in Mexico, Thailand, and elsewhere abroad: Outsourcing Health Care To Countries That Appreciate Efficiency (Adam Ozimek channeling Tyler Cowen channeling Ragharum Rajan).

Rajan argues that this would stimulate competition and innovation in U.S. health care.  Ozimek cites a 2008 paper from the journal Health Care - the abstract reads:

Recent discussions in health reform circles have pinned great hopes on the
prospect of innovation as the solution to the high-cost, inadequate-quality U.S. health system.  But U.S. health care institutions—insurers, providers, and specialists—have ceded
leadership in innovation to Indian hospitals such as Care Hospital in Hyderabad and the
Fortis Hospitals around New Delhi, which have U.S.-trained doctors and can perform open
heart surgery for $6,000 (compared to $100,000 in the United States). The Indian success
is a window into America’s stalemate with inflating costs and stagnant innovation.

Comments

[Baby Gates]

I understand that healthcare is cheaper in India but I think most of that is due to insurance running up the cost along with Hospitals here do not operate like a business but a service.

The biggest cost I would say is Legal issues here.

[How To Deal With Jealousy]

I don't understand why the US doesn't focus their attention and money to creating systems and workflows that result in more efficient and secure operations. Doing only that would without a doubt lower the annual cost of healthcare, reduce the number of lawsuits and lower the fatality count due to malpractice.

[hair loss treatment]

thanks for sharing this... very informative... sure made us see the difference of health care in countries, leading and those who are considered as third world or somewhere in the middle...

[dsquared pull]

Bonjour Fred, l’ami Philippe Martin de la Fabrique de blogs (N’ayez pas peur) m’a pointé vers votre billet et je dois avouer qu’il s’agit là d’un panorama des médias sociaux des plus complets et intéressants. Je me permets tout de même une question. Le réseau social Facebook demeure-t-il une avenue intéressante pour les entreprises souhaitant rejoindre leurs clients par le biais des médias sociaux?

P.S. Votre tableau des médias sociaux sera dorénavant mon wallpaper…

Merci!