We all know that healthcare in America is outrageously expensive, and if we haven’t already been on the receiving end of a medical bill that seems enormous then it’s only a matter of time before we will be.
But how did it get like this? Why can’t we have affordable healthcare? And why are medical bills so expensive?
#1. Insurance Controls The Prices of Healthcare
Because almost everyone who is seeking healthcare has insurance, and because insurance wants to pay as little as possible for healthcare, doctors, clinics, and hospitals will artificially inflate the cost of their medical care, supplies, and procedures.
This is because they know that the health insurance company is only going to pay a fraction of the cost submitted to them, so if the hospital sends a very large bill and the insurance pays 50% then it will be better for the hospital than if they send a more realistic bill and the insurance company pays 50%.
In essence, insurance companies don’t want to pay very much so they’ll only pay a fraction of the bill, and hospitals and clinics want to maximize their revenue so they’ll send the biggest bill they can to the insurance company.
It may sound like it’s bad for patients and, well, it is. But that’s the system that we’re in. And that’s why you’re here at Crush Medical Debt to see if you can make the system work for you.
#2. Waste In the System
One of the biggest medical costs is not procedures or visits or supplies–it’s administrative costs. The medical system is fragmented between so many different systems: the Affordable Care Act, employer-based health insurance plans, Medicare and Medicaid, insurance, HMOs and PPOs, drug companies–and that’s to say nothing about the actual providers. Healthcare spending is outrageous and healthcare costs are so high because the healthcare system is a bureaucratic nightmare.
This is why we at Crush Medical Debt work so hard to encourage you to get itemized bills when you’re calculating the money you should owe for medical services in the United States. Hospital bills can include MANY things on their itemized bills which should definitely not be there, and which are priced far beyond what they should be. Being strict with prices and costs will help you save a lot of money and stress.
#3. Drug Costs Are Rising
We talk in America about having affordable health care, but on average our healthcare prices–for drugs, at least–are double that which the rest of the Western world pays. It is estimated that high drug prices are the number one source of overspending in American healthcare. The US spends $1,443 per person per year, compared to $749 in most prosperous countries.
And the reason for this has to do with private insurers negotiating the price of drugs, with heavy influence from the government, from which many politicians are receiving money from drug companies.