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Some providers actually have policies that prohibit giving out any pricing information. There are so many reasons why healthcare isn’t close to a free market.
by hacknat 8y ago
Some providers actually have policies that prohibit giving out any pricing information.
There are so many reasons why healthcare isn’t close to a free market. Here are a few:
1. All medical residents receive their salaries from Medicare.
2. It is illegal not to treat people who go to the emergency room. This actually makes the whole system socialized in some ways in that there is a guaranteed way to get healthcare without having to pay for it. It’s literally the worst way to socialize medicine though (what with preventive medicine being cheaper).
3. Within the industry itself their are drug pricing cartels, lab monopolies and facility provider splits that even some hospital administrators don’t understand. You mentioned shopping around for lab results, but I think there is only one option in a lot of states.
Forget single payer socialize the whole thing (it already is in the most expensive, stupid way).
- drb91 8y agoNit, that’s not socialization, that’s just right to service. You still shoulder the bill entirely yourself. The only thing that approaches socialized healthcare is free flu shots.
- mikeash 8y agoPeople who get service and can’t pay effectively have their service paid for by all the other customers. That’s basically socialized, since all the other customers basically means all of us.
- drb91 8y agoWell, they also get harrassed and get their credit destroyed. Hardly “effectively” socialized.
- JAlexoid 8y agoA foreigner comes in and racks up bills for $300k. His travel insurance pays only $50k. He leaves... and guess who pays the rest? Or a homeless person gets rolled in - they give no shit if you trash their credit rating. Honestly... I live in US, if I get hit with anything similar... I'll just pack up and go back to Europe.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]