Medicare and Medicaid have driven our prices up exponentially I can assure you. So have private insurance companies.
Example
Say I stitch you up. Depending on the complexity of the laceration, the type of equipment used, and the time it takes me I bill at a certain rate.
For ease of math let’s say 250$ Equipment cost was 125$. That’s for my services and equipment used. Not the actual Er bill for room and nurses and all that
Medicare says well we won’t pay that. We will give you 125$
So instead we have to find ways to bill for things just to pull any money in, which means the overall bill has to be higher. insurances will negotiate and only pay percentages and it makes it very hard for a hospital to cover costs and stay fluid. Even if we billed the bare minimum for only the absolute necessary things we use they will only pay a percentage
Now you know why there are very few community hospitals that can keep head above water, and instead have to join larger hospital groups.
If a carpenter came to your house and installed crown, you only gonna pay a percentage and he eats the rest. Not how it works in real world
Nothing is free. You want good quality healthcare it costs money, lots of it. Same as any large business with huge operating costs
First step in lowering costs is getting government oversight reduced. Just look up the joint commission. These azzhats are real pricks and can basically come in and dictate all kinds of unnecessary bull crap that costs hospitals a fortune, or they will shut you down.
Some of the oversight is necessary, but not to the extent that it is now
How about the fact that medical liability is so crazy and litigious that I can be sued even if I do everything right, and you have a poor outcome. Might not win in court but it’s gonna cost a bunch of money to fight it.
You should not be able to sue a doctor or medical professional for anything except gross negligence. If I follow the accepted standards of care, and do what any other person with my level of training and experience would do I shouldn’t be held liable for a negative outcome
I have worked at 2 community not for profit hospitals. One had such a large uninsured population it went bankrupt because you can’t spend more than your bringing in. Joined a large corporate hospital network and the quality of care is now terrible in my opinion
The one I currently work at ( I’m a contractor and not a employ, but was employed there for 10 years) is still community based and not for profit, and they would have gone under if not for past CEO being very smart and investing lots of money in the past. He understood eventually hospitals will only lose money. They do a great amount of services for the community that they do not even bill for
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