Why is the focus almost exclusively on the insurance companies? [View all]

[dansolo]

For Medicare for All to have any possibility of being passed and properly paid for, costs have to be dramatically reduced. But all of the debate seems to suggest it that it is insurance company profits that is the reason why things cost so much. However, that is only one small piece of the puzzle. It is the healthcare providers who charge a rediculous amount of money that really deserve more of the blame. What I hate is that all of the focus is on who will pay for it, and not how can costs be reduced. Just declaring that the government will arbitrarily cap the amount that providers can charge is not enough.

If you want to know why people "like" their private insurance, I can give you my own personal experience. Last year I had a hernia surgery that required an overnight stay. When I got the bill, it was over $54,000. On top of that, the anesthesiologist was out-of-network, and they charged me $3500. My insurance company reduced the hospital charge down to under $9000, and negotiated the other bill down to about a third of the charge, even though they were out-of network. I reached my deductable, so that reduced what I had to pay even more. Do you think I was going to blame the insurance company for saving me over $50000? No, my anger was the the hospital who can charge these rediculous amounts, and` to the anesthesiologists who game the system to increase their profits. This the part of the discussion we should be having, but seems to be completely ignored.