So much of the existing system could be simplified if providers were required to charge every customer the same price. It would be dead simple to implement- add

So much of the existing system could be simplified if providers were required to charge every customer the same price. It would be dead simple to implement- add to the Medicare regulations that if you accept Medicare, you can't charge any customer more than you charge Medicare. The massive subsidy that the privately insured provided to Medicare and Medicaid would be diminished so those prices would rise somewhat, but there would be no inefficient haggling with each individual customer. We would all effectively get the Medicare/Medicaid price for all health care. In-network out-of-network would go away. The differentiation on insurers would be how much they reimburse for particular procedures, not what price they happen to have negotiated with the provider closest to your home. The providers could have different prices from each other, but one provider could not charge a different price to each customer. Instead, under the current system, we let the providers lose money on Medicare and Medicaid patients, while they soak the privately insured and uninsured for massive profits. Everyone coming in the door should pay the same published price. "Most workers blame drug companies and health insurers for high healthcare costs" How did the hospitals and doctors pull this off? The number one driver of higher health care prices in the US is the provider cost, but everyone wants to blame insurance.