Do vegetarians live longer than meat eaters?

Originally posted by Eladar
When they can't do operations because people can't afford them, the prices will drop. Supply and demand.

You are old enough that you should remember the days when people could afford to go to the doctor, even if payment was a chicken or a pig.

When they can't do operations because people can't afford them, the prices will drop. Supply and demand.

The price will not drop below the price that pays for the costs of the operation else the doctor will make no profit from it and will in fact financially loose from it!
What if that minimal market price is still to high for somebody and so he cannot afford it and yet he will die without that operation? What would he be expected to do? Rob a bank or die? What if it is a child? -THAT is why it is a bad idea to just leaving it entirely to the free market! I am not against the free market but there are many situations like this one where the free market alone is just not adequate and the state should intervene to pay and do things to guarantee peoples well being.

Originally posted by humy

When they can't do operations because people can't afford them, the prices will drop. Supply and demand.

The price will not drop below the price that pays for the costs of the operation else the doctor will make no profit from it and will in fact financially loose from it!
What if that minimal market price is still to high for somebody an ...[text shortened]... ot adequate and the state should intervene to pay and do things to guarantee peoples well being.

The price of surgery will drop when people can't afford to use the services. I know the idea of supply and demand is lost on people who believe that government is the cure all.

By the way, what is the cost for services rendered? Oh yeah, the cost the person is charging.

Originally posted by Eladar
The price of surgery will drop when people can't afford to use the services. I know the idea of supply and demand is lost on people who believe that government is the cure all.

By the way, what is the cost for services rendered? Oh yeah, the cost the person is charging.

I see you just completely ignore what I just said and just simply mindlessly shout your mouth off.

The price of surgery will drop when people can't afford to use the services.

Are you blind? Can't you read what I just said?
I said;

“The price will not drop below the price that pays for the costs of the operation else the doctor will make no profit from it and will in fact financially loose from it! “

Do you deny this?

When an operation is done, a surgeon has to be payed for his time and there is also the cost of equipment and any materials used during the operation etc. At the very least, without financial assistance in a pure free market, the patient has to pay enough to cover those costs else there will be no profit for the doctor.

Do you deny that there is a limit to how low a price for an operation can go before it becomes non-profitable? Yes or no?

I know the idea of supply and demand is lost on people who believe that government is the cure all.

Stupid straw man. Obviously I understand supply and demand just fine and I don't believe/claim that the government is “the cure all”
Again, can't you read? I just said “I am not against the free market but...”

You obviously believe that the costs involved in an operation are valid. They are not. Prices are what people are willing to pay or what they are able to squeeze out of you.

Originally posted by Eladar
You obviously believe that the costs involved in an operation are valid. They are not. Prices are what people are willing to pay or what they are able to squeeze out of you.

You obviously believe that the costs involved in an operation are valid. They are not.

WHY not? If materials etc for an operation costs $1000 then how can a doctor make a profit from the patient if he charges the patient less than $1000 for the operation? If he makes no profit from it, assuming he is unwilling to do it for no profit, why would he charge less than that much to do the operation when he could avoid the financial lose by simply choosing NOT to do the operation? Please explain....

If materials etc for an operation costs $1000 and if the operation would only be done by any doctor for anything other than pure profit (and, lets say, no compassion ) and if no costumer is willing to pay as much as $1000 then that simply means no doctor will do the operation -because they know there never will make any money from it.

Originally posted by humy

You obviously believe that the costs involved in an operation are valid. They are not.

WHY not? If materials etc for an operation costs $1000 then how can a doctor make a profit from the patient if he charges the patient less than $1000 for the operation? If he makes no profit from it, assuming he is unwilling to do it for no profit, why ...[text shortened]... imply means no doctor will do the operation -because they know there never will be profit in it!

If the materials are too expensive then they won't be bought. Materials are based on supply and demand too. The choice of material is also determined by supply and demand.

Originally posted by Eladar
If the materials are too expensive then they won't be bought. Materials are based on supply and demand too. The choice of material is also determined by supply and demand.

Materials are based on supply and demand too.

There is a credible limit to how low the price for the materials and equipment etc for an operation can go and that limit is not just dependent on “supply and demand” but also physics. There is a minimal amount of energy required to make the equipment and mining has to be done before you can have the raw material to make that equipment. Miners will not generally work as slaves but demand a minimum wage at least and the cost of energy can only go down so low and the doctor doesn't have control over miners wages and the price of energy!

In fact, more to the point, a doctor has no direct control over the cost of the materials and equipment for the operation. If that costs £1000 in the current market, then the doctor has no choice but to pay £1000 if he is to do the operation.
He cannot demand the price to go down or, as an individual, make the price go down by refusing to pay for it because, if he did that, all that would happen is that he won't get the equipment. This applies to each and every individual doctor. Of course, if they got together and, on mass, deliberately refused to buy equipment until the price goes down, that might work for a while but that obviously wouldn't be politically realistic and probably not sustainable I guess.

The choice of material is also determined by supply and demand.

If, in the current market place, the cheapest material that will enable an operation to be done just happens to be £100 then at least £100 will be needed -there is just no way around that!

Originally posted by humy

Materials are based on supply and demand too.

There is a credible limit to how low the price for the materials and equipment etc for an operation can go and that limit is not just dependent on “supply and demand” but also physics. There is a minimal amount of energy required to make the equipment and mining has to be done before you can h ...[text shortened]... ne just happens to be £100 then at least £100 will be needed -there is just no way around that!

there is a minimal price for everything. Right now medical costs are multiples above the minimal cost.