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Nonsense. That aspect just creates a government contractor Cost Plus mentality which drives prices even higher.
For the thinking people who read this thread - a lesson on how how medical insurance (ObamaCare) is really prepaid health services, and the pricing is insane.
...The insurance policy, the clerk said, would pay up to $2,500 for the surgeonmore than enoughand up to $2,500 for the hospital's charges for the operating room, nursing, recovery room, etc. The estimated hospital charge was $23,000. She asked him to pay roughly $20,000 upfront to cover the estimated balance.
My patient was stunned....
So we canceled the surgery and started the scheduling process all over again, this time classifying my patient as a "self-pay" (or uninsured) patient. I quoted him a reasonable upfront cash price, as did the anesthesiologist. We contacted a different hospital and they quoted him a reasonable upfront cash price for the outpatient surgical/nursing services. He underwent his operation the very next day, with a total bill of just a little over $3,000, including doctor and hospital fees. He ended up saving $17,000 by not using insurance
This process taught us a few things. First, most people these days don't have health "insurance." They have prepaid health plans. They pay premiums to take advantage of a pre-negotiated fee schedule arranged for and administered by a third party. My patient, on the other hand, had insurance.
Second, even with the markdown for upfront "cash-pay" patients, none of the providers was losing money on my patient. Otherwise they wouldn't have agreed to the prices. With the third-party payer taken out of the picture, we got a better idea of the market prices for the services. It is the third-party payment system that interferes with true price competition, so "market clearing prices" can't develop.
Take the examples of Lasik eye surgery or cosmetic surgery. These services are not covered by insurance. Providers compete on the basis of quality, outcomes and price. And prices have continually dropped as quality and services have improvedunlike the rest of health care.
When my patient returned for his post-op visit we discussed the experience. It was clear to both of us that the only way to make health care more affordable is to diminish the role of third-party payers. Let consumers and providers interact through market forces to drive down prices and drive up quality, like we do when we buy groceries, clothing, cars, computers, etc. Drop the focus on prepaid health plans and return to the days of real health insurancethat covers major, unforeseen events, leaving the everyday expenses to the consumerjust like auto and homeowners' insurance.
Sadly, we are heading in the exact opposite direction. ObamaCare expands the role of the third party and practically eliminates the roleand the sayof the patient in the delivery of health care. Will they ever learn?...
Jeffrey Singer: The Man Who Was Treated for $17,000 Less - WSJ.com
What blows my mind is that people do not see Obamacare for what it is. First, it takes the responsibility of providing healthcare and the associated costs off the employer (the corporation) and puts it on the individual. And second, it forces the cost of insurance on the uninsured onto the working class. there is no reform to healthcare. there is no reform to out of control costs.
Actually, it spreads out the cost. What caused Romney to come up with Romney care was the number of people using the emergency room as their primary source of health care at 10 to 100 times or more the cost of insurance. The state was going bankrupt paying for it.
The idea that no health care at all is better comes from deranged and diseased minds.
