Brill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Steven Brill: I got the idea for this article when I was visiting Rice University last year. As I was leaving the campus, which is just outside the central business district of Houston, I noticed a group of glass skyscrapers about a mile away lighting up the evening sky. The scene looked like Dubai. I was looking at the Texas Medical Center, a nearly 1,300-acre, 280-building complex of hospitals and related medical facilities, of which MD Anderson is the lead brand name. Medicine had obviously become a huge business. In fact, of Houston's top 10 employers, five are hospitals, including MD Anderson with 19,000 employees; three, led by ExxonMobil with 14,000 employees, are energy companies. How did that happen, I wondered. Where's all that money coming from? And where is it going? I have spent the past seven months trying to find out by analyzing a variety of bills from hospitals like MD Anderson, doctors, drug companies and every other player in the American health care ecosystem.

Posted by danni at 08:32 AM | 48 COMMENTS | permalink | Comment on This Entry |

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danni

Joined 2005/05/24
Visited 2013/05/23

Status: user

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The medical industry keeps us all so busy arguing about how we are going to pay the bills that we fail to question why the bills are so huge. Healthcare reform needs to start with the reform of the medical industry itself.

#1 | Posted by danni at 2013-02-23 08:47 AM | Reply | Flag:

"Healthcare reform needs to start with the reform of the medical industry itself."

'I call bullsh*t'
--- Obama and formally Danni ---

It was recently 'fixed' [sic] with the Affordable Health Care for America Act.

A BIG selling point: "IMPROVING QUALITY AND LOWERING COSTS"

"Providing Free Preventive Care"...You can't get any cheaper than "FREE"!

"Preventing Disease and Illness" Unicorns and rainbows!

"Improving Health Care Quality and Efficiency" Sometime in the future....maybe....maybe not.

"Introducing New Innovations to Bring Down Costs" ... See Danni, it's already being done.

Much more BS at www.healthcare.gov

#2 | Posted by KBM at 2013-02-23 09:36 AM | Reply | Flag:

Thanks for the article. This is a question I've been thinking about for a long time. The idea of the free market doesn't apply to medicine and we can see the results of that in the high cost and poor return on the dollar.

#3 | Posted by BruceBanner at 2013-02-23 10:31 AM | Reply | Flag:

Bruce,

Still reading the article but the point about no free market is so valid it is astounding that people still argue that it is.

Just one example, when I first got the DX of MS my Neuro wanted me to get one more test to confirm even though MRI and Spinal Tap had already confirmed. Being a hopeful kinda of guy I was game with hopes that it would reject the first two findings. So she gave me the referral to the hospital to do the test, I was on HDHP at the time so cost was a factor. I called the hospital and tried to find out the cost. After 2.5 hours on the phone talking with 4 different departments I had found out that it would be between 2000-7000 dollars. No one could get me a closer guess. In my town there are multiple hospitals so I began calling others. The second could not give me an answer period, the third guessed in the same 2-7k ballpark, the 4th was the only one willing to be anything close to pinned down and they came in at 5500 give or take a bit. So nearly a full 8 hour day of work trying to price the market and no firm basis for a decision.

So 4 hospitals to choose from for a fairly routine test, how as a consumer do I choose? Hospital 2 is clearly out but 1 & 3 were the same range and 4 was under the max but over the min so I would have to gamble.

Ultimately I chose not getting the test after research online showed that there was no DX benefit to it and a virtual guarantee that it would only confirm the first 2.

That is just one of my stories of the failure of Health Care to act in any way like a free market.

#4 | Posted by TaoWarrior at 2013-02-23 11:29 AM | Reply | Flag:

Tao is absolutely right. You can't get a straight answer prior to a procedure. I tried to price a colonscopy at three different places and couldn't get a total price. Just a ballpark of about 3200 give or take a 1000. Then there is the add ons, lab, anesthesia, facility, etc.

#5 | Posted by mattm at 2013-02-23 12:54 PM | Reply | Flag:

I watched Jon Stewart interview the author the other night and went looking for the article. Everyone in America needs to read it so that we can build a consensus powerful enough to do womething about it.

#6 | Posted by danni at 2013-02-23 02:31 PM | Reply | Flag:

Well it's HIPPA protecting the charade. IF we could get a schedule of fees for standard procedures we could make a choice. If we could find out hospital's 'results' or 'experiences' we could decided where to go. Currently there is no cost control method for individuals. I had some extensive blood work done recently, Quest sent my ins co a bill for 1,800!!

New Yorker magazine had a very good write up about NYC hospitals a couple years ago. If you think HCR can be fixed by politicians, I have some bad news for you. They can't, and things are about to get much, much worse.

The 30 page article described city hospitals vs sloane kettering mayo clinic etc. Medicare vs medicaid. People walking into the hospital having burned themselves up in life, vs those fighting one major illness. Insurnace no insurance etc. I do not pretend to know how to fix the system, be careful of those who do, and reduce it into a 30 second sound byte!

They ( and New Yorker is no right wing magazine!!) said the envy of all new york was one hospital run by a tight fisted skin flynt of a manager. It takes brains to make it work. We are about to get the exact opposite. Managers run by government insurance,"free to all".

HA there IS NO FREE LUNCH

#7 | Posted by DavetheWave at 2013-02-23 05:43 PM | Reply | Flag:

However I do remember danni saying during the HCR debates that Obamacare was GOING TO BEND DOWN THE COST CURVE.

I'm sure soon we will here from her kind "Not our fault"

#8 | Posted by DavetheWave at 2013-02-23 06:22 PM | Reply | Flag:

Gee Dave, could you be a little nastier and more condescending? As if you have posted anything of significance. "My kind" will continue to support the President in his efforts to bend the cost curve while your kind demonizes him for trying. Meanwhile, they guys you vote for will continue to try and preserve the status quo which is failing. "Your kind" are the enablers of the corporatists who are profiting on the suffering of millions but hey they really do appreciate your support. They toast you tonight with the finest champagne, too bad you aren't there to have a glass or two with them.

#9 | Posted by danni at 2013-02-23 06:48 PM | Reply | Flag:

From a healthcare IT blog:

The fact that the author couldn't come up with recommendations less invasive or more likely to succeed than simply letting the government run all healthcare as it does the wasteful, political, and fraud-riddled Medicare program is a bit of a letdown.

#10 | Posted by Pirate at 2013-02-23 08:58 PM | Reply | Flag:

I think it's the insurance racket. Without insurance, the high bills don't get paid.

#11 | Posted by boaz at 2013-02-23 10:44 PM | Reply | Flag:

Its a racket all right. Just like car insurance. .

It re-enforces the welfare trap too. Like no way can a welfare mom afford a car to get a job poll dancing when she's got to have insurance in case of a fender-bender with someone's Corvette. But the "law makers" like Corvettes - so you gotta "PAY TO PLAY".

Want to drive a Vette? Get your own damn insurance rather than making everyone else pay.

Old and/or Sick? Then just die without making your kids broke and debt-slaves or bankrupting the whole USA. Otherwise hurry up and go where you belong anyway. Ya prolly already got over a dozen pills anyway... just go have some 'fun' one last time.

#12 | Posted by reitze at 2013-02-24 12:00 AM | Reply | Flag:

I had my clavicle rebuilt after a motorcycle accident two years ago and the itemized bill was 26 pages long and came up to just over $40,000. It was a same day surgery with no overnight stay. Each screw they put in cost $350. I have 8 of them. The plate cost $3500.

#13 | Posted by rearendhat at 2013-02-24 08:54 AM | Reply | Flag:

"Each screw they put in cost $350."

I'm tempted to say, "You got screwed" or note that Home Depot sells them for less. (Of course, I'm assuming - hoping - these are better quality materials than you use to put together a bookcase.)

It sure doesn't take much to get a hospital/surgery bill soaring into the stratosphere.

#14 | Posted by Doc_Sarvis at 2013-02-24 08:59 AM | Reply | Flag:

Reitze,

That is what my dad chose to do. A second dose of Morphine 30 min after the first and a total of 3 in 3 hours. With the respiration issues cause by ALS that much morphine was a quick quiet death.

The upshot is you are right my mom is doing fine financially since a small fortune was not used to keep him alive an extra week or two. She will retire this year and not have to be a walmart greeter.

#15 | Posted by TaoWarrior at 2013-02-24 09:02 AM | Reply | Flag:

Titanium, both the screws and the plate.

If anyone is interested:

Break: imgur.com

Plate with screws: imgur.com

#16 | Posted by rearendhat at 2013-02-24 09:04 AM | Reply | Flag:

Total knee replacement can get interesting, bill-wise, too. And don't even start on hyperbaric chambers for the bends.

#17 | Posted by Doc_Sarvis at 2013-02-24 09:10 AM | Reply | Flag:

In my area most doctors seem to be paid employees of clinics or physician groups & if my PCP is to believed receiving between 200 & 300K a year. At the clinic I used to go to when I had insurance a 15" regular medication maintenance, required simply to have prescriptions refilled is billed at $350. The clinic has multiple locations, and all with really nice buildings & landscaping, most of them built in the last few years. Even with insurance it takes one to three weeks to get an appointment & longer if you need a early or late one. The last insurance provided by my former employer was the astoundingly expensive UHC HMO which has a $250 per day co-pay for the first 5 days of each & every hospital stay & $350 for an ER visit. Potentially a one day accident related ER visit with an overnight stay is $600 plus prescription & doctor copays.
How can it be a free market when there is a multi-billion dollar middleman between the provider & the recipient which does not enhance the delivery of the service?

There should be conflict between government and business because, at least theoretically in the US, they serve different purposes. The government for the people, business for profit. But since government licenses & charters business it should require companies to provide for the commonweal as used to be the case before globalization and the advent of lobbyists writing their own laws.
The only solution is to bet private money out of politics, especially any and all corporations, business, public employees, unions. Make the contribution in grassroots physical efforts not financial contributions. The airwaves are publicly owned, for now, get enough signatures you get public air time for a defined and much shorter campaign season, form local to president.

#18 | Posted by kingcuke at 2013-02-24 10:30 AM | Reply | Flag:

"In my area most doctors seem to be paid employees of clinics or physician groups...."

I've noticed that, too. There are also incentives for them to crank out the work - at least where I've gone - although, interestingly, the same incentives don't apply to the nurse practitioners I prefer seeing.

#19 | Posted by Doc_Sarvis at 2013-02-24 10:36 AM | Reply | Flag:

I think it's the insurance racket. Without insurance, the high bills don't get paid.

That's certainly a part of it. I was told by someone familiar with hospital medical billing that unless a charge exceeds $25,000, the medical insurance company doesn't even question the bill! That helps explain why the charge to perform a breast biopsy on an out patient basis was $15,000!

Another major factor is deliberate "procedure padding" by providers. Recently a family member was having difficulty walking because of pain in the knees. She received 3 injections in one knee over a 3 week period. After 6 weeks, she will receive another 3 injections in the other knee. All of which will be paid by Medicare and Medicare Supplement insurance. She was told by the orthopaedic surgeon that gave her the injection that other surgeons are routinely charging an additional $10,000 for physical rehab before the injections are even administered!

#20 | Posted by FedUpWithPols at 2013-02-24 11:32 AM | Reply | Flag:

The fact that medical treatment is too expensive is something that everyone can agree on. But instead we're going to continue to root for our home team party while things get worse.

#21 | Posted by visitor_ at 2013-02-24 12:12 PM | Reply | Flag:

Ultimately I chose not getting the test after research online showed that there was no DX benefit to it and a virtual guarantee that it would only confirm the first 2.

That is just one of my stories of the failure of Health Care to act in any way like a free market.

#4 | Posted by TaoWarrior at 2013-02-23 11:29 AM | Reply

Tao, you're so right on. Having been in the medical community your example of medical idiocy is just one of millions. I couldn't begin to tell you story after story of medical cognitive dissonance. The number of unnecessary surgeries is another story. It's just encouraging to read in the DR the swing in the thoughts of some of the posters concerning "some" of the issues in this country and causal factors. There has not been a free market in the medical industry for years. If we brought those principles into being you would see massive cost reduction over time. However, the AMA and other powerful interests would be in the forefront attacking free markets.

#22 | Posted by matsop at 2013-02-24 12:27 PM | Reply | Flag:

Reitze,
That is what my dad chose to do. A second dose of Morphine 30 min after the first and a total of 3 in 3 hours. With the respiration issues cause by ALS that much morphine was a quick quiet death.
The upshot is you are right my mom is doing fine financially since a small fortune was not used to keep him alive an extra week or two. She will retire this year and not have to be a walmart greeter.
#15 | Posted by TaoWarrior at 2013-02-24 09:02 AM | Reply | Flag: Good for them!

And good for you being big-picture high minded about it! BTW, the upshot is also that the rest of us might get to keep our roofs and food on our tables... if people like your parents weren't so rare.

Sadly I can't say the same for my parents (even if I do love them)... they drank the cool-aid. Funny how they try to avoid (bully away from) so many conversational topics while pretending everything on Faux Noose is true (or at least their spin). It makes it much harder to honor thy parents while perceiving them as thieves that don't even admit their wrong and refuse to discuss it. I can't imagine how it would feel to be a child of a 'real' criminal like a "law maker".

#23 | Posted by reitze at 2013-02-24 01:45 PM | Reply | Flag:

"you would see massive cost reduction over time."

That would be ideal. That's what I've been interested in seeing since ACA first began to rear its ugly head: affordability. But then, lack of regulation is also a bad idea, so I'd want to know what you mean by "free market" in this context. I'm sure you've noted this before, but what role do you play in the industry? Are you in insurance or health care?

#24 | Posted by pragmatist at 2013-02-24 01:53 PM | Reply | Flag:

Reitze,

My dad made his decision and I think that he made the right one, if you ever knew anyone with end stage ALS you would I am sure agree. There was no quality of life left. It is just lucky that he was at home because a hospital would never have allowed it.

That said I would never want to force that choice on anyone it is a choice each of us must make on our own.

#25 | Posted by TaoWarrior at 2013-02-24 01:54 PM | Reply | Flag:

AMA and other powerful interests would be in the forefront attacking free markets.
#22 | Posted by matsop at 2013-02-24 12:27 PM | Reply | Flag: They already did

Or do you think you could smoke a joint for that side-effect? No there's yet another pill for that... and don't worry 'the people' will pay.

There's NO ACCOUNTABILITY on any level of our system. Its designed to make money for criminals while keeping people sick ... so they stay patients, paying them. Sure some become Dr's Nurses pharmasists /whatever because they care... but as soon as they start to care about their job there are RULES.

And be real. Why else do we care about fighting wars on Mexico and AfPak? Its the MJ and Opium (stupid? yea if you don't get it). And yes those are 'real wars' in that the death tolls are like Veit Nam.

Its big pharma, big government, big fraud and GENOCIDE. They become ZOMBIES first - doing what they're told, shillin for their drugs, ...

#26 | Posted by reitze at 2013-02-24 01:55 PM | Reply | Flag:

#19 | Posted by Doc_Sarvis at 2013-02-24 10:36 AM | Reply |

It's called "fee for service" which incentivizes unnecessary testing, diagnostics, surgeries, and procedures. The HCP without integrity reaps the financial rewards and the ethical physician makes a lot less---seems to be a common thing in all professions and other areas in America.

#27 | Posted by matsop at 2013-02-24 01:58 PM | Reply | Flag:

" it is a choice each of us must make on our own."
#25 | Posted by TaoWarrior at 2013-02-24 01:54 PM | Reply | Flag:

A purchase should be a choice. As should be the purchase of medical insurance (with its associated terms and conditions while depending on the rest of the purchasers to be HONEST).

Forced purchases aren't free market - they're a crime-racket... tanking toward Genocide and the destruction of the US economy but a treasonous bastard who doesn't even respect the constitution (1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 10th... TREASON).

But of course the Zombies just watch TV and do what they're told via hypnotic suggestion.

"...if so you've got ____ ask your Dr for ____".

#28 | Posted by reitze at 2013-02-24 02:00 PM | Reply | Flag:

Reitze,

That said I would never want to force that choice on anyone it is a choice each of us must make on our own.

#25 | Posted by TaoWarrior at 2013-02-24 01:54 PM | Reply

Tao, your dad did make the right decision. When educated and given info, the patient more often then not makes the right decision. I've found that over the years. I had a neighbor diagnosed with significant cancer a few years ago and we would get together to talk about it periodically. I would give him the questions to ask his MCPs when he had appointments. That way (when they didn't offer info) he knew the questions to get the answers he needed to make his decision. One situation involved was a major surgery possibility. I told him when he saw the surgeon the first thing he would recommend would be surgery. I gave him questions to ask. It went as I predicted. Then he went to a major medical teaching hospital for a 2nd opinion and asked them the same questions. Both had recommended radical surgery and when they couldn't answer the questions to his satisfaction, he opted out and eventually had quality of life for some period and died a peaceful death.

#29 | Posted by matsop at 2013-02-24 02:07 PM | Reply | Flag:

Mat,

Thanks to the Googles it is getting much easier for patients to get good information on their own. That is great for the HC consumer but there is risk too, for one thing there is a lot of bad info out there, there is some that is beyond bad and down right harmful. Without medical training it can be hard to sort out fact from crap.

Of course that only works for folks who have a chance to do their research when you are laying in the bed thinking you are dying that doesn't cut it.

If we would all take the time to Google our problems that would represent huge savings to the system, but the part about when you are lying there dying (or thinking it) is why HC can not be treated as a free market system, you are essentially helpless.

#30 | Posted by TaoWarrior at 2013-02-24 03:20 PM | Reply | Flag:

You're right about google but even when you're in a terminal death situation or any other medical situation, it helps to know the right questions to ask. Reading multiple sites help you ferret out the right answers since you'll often see repetition.

#31 | Posted by matsop at 2013-02-24 03:37 PM | Reply | Flag:

"Without medical training it can be hard to sort out fact from crap."
#30 | Posted by TaoWarrior at 2013-02-24 03:20 PM | Reply | Flag:

I happen to think systems engineering experience is more useful for that, especially given the need for comprehension of statistics to recognize the total BS of MANY medical Dr assertions. Certainly they have no financial motive to provide good advice. Rather, just the opposite.

I personally experienced that 5 years ago (as blogged here last summer). Basically a Dr Pusher tried to drug-kill me rather than believing in a diet based solution with 100% reversal. I had already done a bit of research and found his knowledge on the subject LESS than what I had learned by reading internet articles for a month or so.

But of course ENGINEERS like me are legally prohibited from advising others... while others get similarly bad advice without the engineering skills or personal resolve to do adequate research. THE JUST DO THE DRUGS.

One such successful engineer is Dewayne McCully who wrote Death To Diabetes. And now that the medical establishments have gotten hold of his 'program' - they execute it like Nazis rather than the common sense and self measuring bio-feedback like Dewayne originally did, and like I did. Instead it seems near-useless as 'prescribed' - no longer an approach to discerning the information but instead now 'do what you're told because we know best'. About as helpful as a heart attack.

#32 | Posted by reitze at 2013-02-24 04:27 PM | Reply | Flag:

And yea, I'm cynical about health care. Its corrupt top to bottom and the corruption in insurance was exactly the reason for HCR.

But of course with a corrupt government the answer to waste fraud and abuse is Advertized Great when its really just more of the same, or worse a double-down.

#33 | Posted by reitze at 2013-02-24 04:31 PM | Reply | Flag:

I don't like mandatory car insurance either. Take your own risks or buy your own insurance - rather than pushing the cost of your fancy car off on everyone else.

#34 | Posted by reitze at 2013-02-24 04:33 PM | Reply | Flag:

"I don't like mandatory car insurance either. Take your own risks or buy your own insurance - rather than pushing the cost of your fancy car off on everyone else."

Except that often, people without insurance can't afford to pay up when the time comes. If you're driving a car and run into me, causing destruction of my car, let's say, and physical damage requiring medical care, what happens when you don't have insurance and are even a middle-class earner? You can't pay for my needs, needs which resulted from your driving. Sorry, car insurance is a must. Even though I could choose not to, I pay for it. It's only smart. Has it paid for itself? No. Let's hope it never has to.

#35 | Posted by pragmatist at 2013-02-24 06:06 PM | Reply | Flag:

#9 EXACTLY as predicted, yes it's always someone else's fault for you D's isn't it?

The charade is over. You said it dozens of times. Obamacare will BEND DOWN THE COST CURVE.

Coming from an EXTREME partisan D, it's funny you want to create a big tent of responsibility. Obama and the D's rammed HCR through. You accept no critic, you allowed no discussion, you insisted it be done. All 1200 or is it 2100 pages?

Now YOUR PARTY is responsible. You proudly repeated "You can't drive". And now you pretend to have wanted input. YOU LIE.

It's a strong statement OF FACT. It didn't bend down the cost curve. It's about to shoot it thru the moon.

#36 | Posted by DavetheWave at 2013-02-24 06:13 PM | Reply | Flag:

Now that I read you whole statement, you make me laugh. We all know you are an anti-capitalist.

Tell us about how connected Obama is to geitner, lew, soros, and corzine are to those evil profit seekers. Your holier than thou line is getting a little stale. Your party is knee deep in crony capitalism. Do you wear blinders? Or does being Pathological just come easy?

#37 | Posted by DavetheWave at 2013-02-24 06:18 PM | Reply | Flag:

#36 | Posted by DavetheWave at 2013-02-24 06:13 PM | Reply

Dave, you're a little tough on the Obungler, dems and lefties. Obungler didn't have a clue what was in the ACA and neither did the dems and lefties. It was put together by clueless bureaucrats who were clueless about the fact that money would run out and Obamacare would end up in the trash can of history. To hold Obama to any standard is unfair since this guy had no experience in much of anything when he became POTUS. How could he know anything about healthcare?

#38 | Posted by matsop at 2013-02-24 06:41 PM | Reply | Flag:

To demand full authority is one thing, to then deny any accountability is another. Notice how her come backing is clearly denying any responsibility for the system they created.

#39 | Posted by DavetheWave at 2013-02-24 06:49 PM | Reply | Flag:

"Your party is knee deep in crony capitalism."

And the Republican party is entirely free of corporate influence! Whew. Thanks for clearing that up.

#40 | Posted by pragmatist at 2013-02-24 06:52 PM | Reply | Flag:

Prag,

My party is certainly free of corporate influence. We would have to be big enough to get corporate funding to have that issue.

#41 | Posted by TaoWarrior at 2013-02-24 07:20 PM | Reply | Flag:

41: Party of One? The Tao Party? : )

My party is free of any sort of influence: no party of all. Sadly, I generally vote Dem, and the party is not what I want it to be. But it appears to be better (from my perspective) than the other party. Feh. And double feh.

#42 | Posted by pragmatist at 2013-02-24 07:52 PM | Reply | Flag:

39: I don't understand that, Dave. That second sentence is confusing. Wanna try it again in English? : ) : )

#43 | Posted by pragmatist at 2013-02-24 07:53 PM | Reply | Flag:

Healthcare in this country is a monstrous rip-off. Double the costs of other industrialized countries, including insurance company discounts. When insurance refuses to pay its quadruple.

#44 | Posted by nutcase at 2013-02-24 08:01 PM | Reply | Flag:

#38 | POSTED BY MATSOP AT 2013-02-24 06:41 PM | FLAG: PSYCHIC PREDICTION

you have no way of know that as an absolute truth. Furthermore you have stated nothing to back up your conjecture. Anyone who entertains statements like that as valid are being foolish because its is nonsense. If you think its so bad why don't you pick an area where it actually has failed. But you know what? You can;t because it hasn't been fully implemented.

I recall in the 70's when Canada first went to a universal health coverage. They said it wouldn't last it would destroy the economy blah blah blah...

Fast forward 40 years and Canada with its similar cultural back ground as the US with similar lifestyle habits and it is in the top ten for life expectancy and health where the US is # 43 or something like that. Pretty lame for the richest most powerful nation on earth.

Republiclowns love their little bits and pieces of evidence that Canadians are crossing the border in droves to get somma that good ol USA to get some decent treatment. Well nothing is further from the truth. In fact the opposite is true. More Americans cross borders both north and south for affordable treatment than people coming here. What we get is the occasional rich person... or the occasional extraordinary charity case. Meanwhile the average person stays at home.

The Canadian health care system isn't perfect but it is a lot closer to perfect than what the average US citizen gets. Ironically the ones who bitch the most about the system

Furthermore that the cost specttum is so out of control is not a good example of what the "free market" is supposed to accomplish via competition. Prices are supposed to self regulate... but no... what we get is the nimber one reason for backruptcy in the nation. The medical system has unbridled power to destroy the live it takes credit for saving.... and if it didn't save the life it can still destroy the lives of responsible family members.

And for this we are supposed to be grateful?

#45 | Posted by RightisTrite at 2013-02-24 09:30 PM | Reply | Flag:

.... Big Pharma,Monsanto etc are BANKING on the American Diet!

**** Its NOT the Medical Bills That Are Killing Us...its the Processed,Adulterated Food!

#46 | Posted by AntiCadillac at 2013-02-24 10:54 PM | Reply | Flag:

Total knee replacement can get interesting, bill-wise, too. And don't even start on hyperbaric chambers for the bends.
#17 | Posted by Doc_Sarvis at 2013-02-24 09:10 AM

Should be used in accordance with most heart-related issues. Why these are kept so expensive and only used for the elite is obvious enough.

#47 | Posted by redlightrobot at 2013-02-25 02:29 PM | Reply | Flag:

Why are the most highly compensated people in healthcare or Wall St the financiers or ones in the middle that make deals and add overhead but never actually create the benefit or the end result? The insurance industry are made up of financiers who take a huge chunk out of healthcare while doing nothing to provide tangible benefits. Remove them and we could save 35% right off the top for starters.

#48 | Posted by Robson at 2013-02-25 09:07 PM | Reply | Flag: