Healthcare: Service or Business in the United States?

[Whocares386]

Many of you admire the health care systems of other nations, and wonder why they work but Americans' don’t. It is because those countries such as UK, France, Germany, Netherlands or even Canada.. admire treat healthcare as a public service, such as building roads and bridges. But in the US, American treat it like a business.

Why this is happening ?

Recently, I read that article and it explains pretty good:
Healthcare: Service or Business?

 

[ABikerSailor]

You know, my roomie used to work as a surgical secretary in a large hospital, and she would continually tell me about how much things are overpriced in the hospital.

A bag of IV fluid? Costs the hospital a grand total of about 2.50, but the hospital charges you 150.00.

A simple aspirin? You can buy a bottle of 100 for about 5 bucks, making them about .05 cents each, but the hospital charges you 5 bucks EACH PILL.

Never mind the high cost of various drugs that the pharma companies pass on to the customer, and they claim they need that money for all the R and D they did in developing the drug.

Wanna talk about the idiot who bought the epi pen company and then jacked up the prices to insane heights?

 

[dblack]

Wanna talk about the idiot who bought the epi pen company and then jacked up the prices to insane heights?

Let's talk about what makes such insanity possible. No one pays those kinds of prices unless they're either very wealthy or insured. If epi-pens were something people paid for out of pocket, you can bet the prices would come down, as well as any regulatory barriers in the way.

 

[ABikerSailor]

Wanna talk about the idiot who bought the epi pen company and then jacked up the prices to insane heights?

Let's talk about what makes such insanity possible. No one pays those kinds of prices unless they're either very wealthy or insured. If epi-pens were something people paid for out of pocket, you can bet the prices would come down, as well as any regulatory barriers in the way.

Actually, they do. All hospitals have a master pay list that holds the inflated prices that they pass on to the insurance companies and then reduce it a bit because of the insurance. However, if you don't have insurance, you will pay the full prices in the master pay list.

And, yeah, there WERE people who were having to pay the inflated price, even though they required an epi pen to live because of allergies.

 

[dblack]

Wanna talk about the idiot who bought the epi pen company and then jacked up the prices to insane heights?

Let's talk about what makes such insanity possible. No one pays those kinds of prices unless they're either very wealthy or insured. If epi-pens were something people paid for out of pocket, you can bet the prices would come down, as well as any regulatory barriers in the way.

Actually, they do. All hospitals have a master pay list that holds the inflated prices that they pass on to the insurance companies and then reduce it a bit because of the insurance. However, if you don't have insurance, you will pay the full prices in the master pay list.

And, yeah, there WERE people who were having to pay the inflated price, even though they required an epi pen to live because of allergies.

I wonder what percentage. Do you have any data on what percentage of epi-pen purchasers are paying out of pocket? I bet it's a tiny fraction.