Have you ever wondered why insurance companies allow hospitals to charge so much for their services? I finally have the answer! And it's what I always suspected - fraud! Yes, I already knew the medical industry was largely fraudulent. But I didn't understand how they were able to get insurance companies to go along with the high prices they charge. Until I listened to this podcast episode of the Tom Woods Show.
In that podcast episode, I learned that the insurance companies don't actually pay the full bill. They only pay a fraction of the bill. This is deceitful and should be illegal. It's a win for both the insurance companies and the hospitals, but it's the patients that lose.
Insurance companies look like they're doing quite a service by paying those expensive medical bills for you. After all, most people couldn't afford to pay it out of pocket. They can, however, afford a monthly payment.
The truth is if we had a free market medical system it would be so cheap that nearly everyone could afford it. Dr. Jane Orient says that medical costs could be 10% of what a hospital typical charges. That's a huge difference! With us saving that much on healthcare there's no excuse for our current system.
The thinking behind medicare for all is everyone will be covered. But don't you think if the rest of us can save even half on our healthcare that we would chip in to help those needy? They say it's for the greater good. But isn't it greater for everyone if we save 90% on our healthcare? Even 50%? It doesn't work out as well for the industries that stand to profit from this scheme. But it certainly works out better for the people.
How does it work out better for the hospital?
Hospitals don't charge the insurance companies full price but they can with the government. Dr. Orient said that if you don't pay your hospital bills then the hospital will go to the government and get full price. Most people don't care much about how it's paid as long as they don't have to pay out of pocket. But we pay for it in taxes.
The Solution?
Free market medical care!
Dr. Orient gave us some good resources too. She works for AAPS. If you don't believe it's that much cheaper in the free market all you have to do is go to SurgeryCenterOK.com and check out their pricing and compare it with your local hospital. The Surgery Center of Oklahoma is a member of the Free Market Medical Association.