In Germany, a while back, we had this weird glitch in the political decision-makers where they thought that, instead of slightly raising healthcare fees, people should pay a little (10€) money when they go to the doctor. Not for each visit, though, or each doctor, just the first time in a quarter you go to the (any) doctor. The main results were:
- administration cost ate up most of the additional income
- people for whom money was tight and who didn't see doctors much anyway were discouraged from seeing a doctor even if it would have been good if they did
- people who went to see doctors all the time continued to do so anyway (both the vast majority with real issues and the kind of sort of targeted very small minority with frivolous complaints)
- people with private insurance (which is a thing here, too, as kind of a parallel system for rich people, self-employed people and a certain class of civil servants, kind of breaking the system for everyone) shrugged at the whole thing
- fees did rise anyway
- it was discontinued after a few years once politicians realized that demographics won't change to fit financial dogma
32
In Germany, a while back, we had this weird glitch in the political decision-makers where they thought that, instead of slightly raising healthcare fees, people should pay a little (10€) money when they go to the doctor. Not for each visit, though, or each doctor, just the first time in a quarter you go to the (any) doctor. The main results were:
- administration cost ate up most of the additional income
- people for whom money was tight and who didn't see doctors much anyway were discouraged from seeing a doctor even if it would have been good if they did
- people who went to see doctors all the time continued to do so anyway (both the vast majority with real issues and the kind of sort of targeted very small minority with frivolous complaints)
- people with private insurance (which is a thing here, too, as kind of a parallel system for rich people, self-employed people and a certain class of civil servants, kind of breaking the system for everyone) shrugged at the whole thing
- fees did rise anyway
- it was discontinued after a few years once politicians realized that demographics won't change to fit financial dogma