The Anatomy of a Ripoff. (Or why "health care" costs are so high)

[KansDem]

8. Decades ago my sister worked as a dental assistant, then in the front office in billing

She told me you could trust only about 10% of the dentists (I don't know where she got her statistic) and went on to say she personally knew dentists who would inflate charges based on a patient's status:

In order from least to most likely--
1) Patient paying out of pocket;
2) Patient with private insurance;
3) Patient on public health assistance (Medi-Cal--this was in California)

The most victimized patient was the one on public health assistance. For example, my sister would see a lesser-costing material being used on the patient's teeth but the most expensive material charged on the bill. She worked for several dentists during her "career" and saw this constantly.