If the demand is artificially stimulated by free medical care, or if the supply is artificially limited by regulation or collusion, the Law of Supply and Demand gets a bit warped in the process.
The co-pay of $250-300 is in many cases, the realistic value of the service! The physician-owned MRI units charge the insco $4500, or whatever they can get away with. In their defence, such as it is, when the Gonzalez brothers ... all 18 of them...get their MRIs for "free," the MRI company graciously waives the co-pay and probably only bills the funding agency a low, low $2800 each!
I claim that the medical accounting theory is all screwed up ... like oil depletion allowances... entertainment business practices ... municipal road contracts, etc. The main thing screwing it up is that millions receive medical services for free, while thousands pay for insurance and make co-payments. That's hardly "capitalism" in action.
Yea. I talked to my Dad about this very thing last night. He is a 50 year practicing pediatrician. Semi-retired now, you want to get him pissed start talking about regulations, medicaid, insurance etc. He doesn’t even like to think about it. Says he pays office employees to handle that, he just can’t deal with it. At the end of the day they’ll be a stack of papers on his desk and he just signs.
His biggest thing is Doctors who won’t take Medicaid. Probably 60% of his practice is medicaid. He needs to refer a patient many times he can’t cause he can’t find a specialist who will see them.
Growing up, kids in school thought we were “rich”. Far from it. At one time he was the only pediatrician in 3 counties who took Medicaid. Every medicaid patient was a net loser money wise. When you factor in all the no pays then it was a balancing act just to pay the bills. It’s not the kids fault. What’s he supposed to do, tell a sick 6 yo he can’t see them?