>>Too much.
What should it be?
How do you know better than all other health care consumers combined?
How would you propose lowering it?
How do you know better than all other health care consumers combined?
How would you propose lowering it?
You obviously aren't in the field. Consumers have no control over American health care. It is controlled first by legislation and regulation directly - and indirectly and as the largest purchaser of services. It is controlled second by guilds with government protection. It is controlled third by the de facto requirements of numerous court decisions.
Even consumer choice is eliminated in many respects. Its basically the equivalent of going to a supermarket and being told you must purchase a whole shopping cart full of goods everytime. It is illegal to just get milk. Entry to the market is restricted in a dozen different ways.
Nothing can be done to fix it and it will completely government controlled within 15 years. All the infrastructure is being standardized (Providers forced to use identical numbers, payers forced to structure all transactions identically etc.) Americans are not willing to accept the consequences of freedom in this area so we will eventually give in to socialized medicine.
First we had Medicare Part A, then B, then C, and now thanks to our President we have Part D. What do you think Part E and F will look like?