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It seems to me that the balance of power has shifted far over to the providers and away from the insurance companies. Would allowing more mergers give them more
by pkulak 13y ago
It seems to me that the balance of power has shifted far over to the providers and away from the insurance companies. Would allowing more mergers give them more bargaining power and bring these costs down? Or is that just too simple?
- danielweber 13y agoThere is a lot of cultural resistance in the US to any kind of price pressure on health costs. This problem will exist regardless of whether you have a private or government system.
- dragonwriter 13y ago> It seems to me that the balance of power has shifted far over to the providers and away from the insurance companies. That's because you are looking at an accounting of the nominal charges, and not what the insurance actually paid. If you look at what the insurance actually paid based on those nominal charges, you'll see that the balance of power isn't where you think it is.
- pkulak 13y agoOh yes it is! I know exactly what my insurance company's negotiated prices are (because I pay them!) and they are astronomical. I just had an emergency visit and the nominal charge was $1700. The negotiated charge was $1500. That's _nothing_. I added up the medicare schedule prices for the entire visit and it was about $350. So, yes, a large insurance plan (like medicare) seems to be able to negotiate far better than my insurance company.