That's true and the reason I think is because the system is insulated from market forces. My own experience is fairly typical in that I don't know what the real costs are. Probably close to $50,000 but I could ignore because I knew the HMO would foot the bill. That kind of bill is higher than most of us would pay on our own because we can't shop for the best service at a decent price. I submit if nothing is done to introduce market competition into medical care, we will probably wind up sooner or later, with single-payer government run health care. Its already being considered in California.
( No more Olmert! No more Kadima! No more Oslo!)
That's true and the reason I think is because the system is insulated from market forces. Of course it is. Health insurance providers need more profit, they raise rates or restrict deny coverage. That's much cheaper to their bottom line than auditing individual bills, which in my limited experience are 50-150% overcharges.