Dutch,
One thing I have attributed to expensive medical, is the coding.
Take a car to the garage, get a bill from a gunsmith,
It will be itemized with plain language explaining every charge.
Go to the hospital, get a bill.
It will show a 69984, and ak85gj8 and N XYZPDQ.
The insurance company pays that bill without any review from you.
You look at the receipt, choke at the price, and throw it in the drawer.
Because you have no dang clue what it means.
You got a bandaid, was that a 69984? Or were you charged for an MRI?Fraud? Mistake? How would anyone ever catch it.
If your bill from Mr. GoodWrench shows 4 new tires at $2500, you
immediately know if you wanted tires, got the tires, and probably
know that was too much for the tires.
Medical bills? It's in code.
KWFA you are exactly right.
Before Obama, many people with deeper pockets and less concern about
medical bills bought catastrophic plans. And they were really cheap.
$3-5k, deductible $10k max.
Now?
Those terms are a normal policy, at a very high premium.
Being sold to people where the premiums hurt, and the deductible and out of pocket maximums are crushing.
Obama did not make health care affordable.
He made it more affordable to have government subsidized insurance,
that came with high deductibles that those who bought it couldn't cover. Leaving them with insurance bills, mandated by law, but still unable to get health care. Many, would be better off banking premium money toward medical expenses.
