I believe a part of the high costs are imaginary.
People are flabbergasted to hear that some tablets cost $6 to $8 dollars these days. For the life of them they can’t understand why.
What they don’t realize is that these tablets are so effective that they prevent the patient from having to be hospitalized for a few days to a couple of weeks.
Other costs do go up exponentially, but a considerable amount of those costs are more or less passed on by the hospitals from they suppliers. Those suppliers are not under the gun to cut costs. That puts hospitals in a very tough position.
Thanks for saying it. The hospital where I work hemorrhages money as I’m sure all of them do. The ER waiting room is full of illegals waiting for their health care entitlement and having the colossal nerve to gripe because they aren’t seen five minutes after they arrive and we don’t have a private interpreter to serve them. For most of them their issues aren’t an emergency, but they know they can’t be turned away so they use the ER as if it were their primary care physician. Then there’s the huge segment of our population who are admitted for acute care and are uninsured. Top that off with the Medicare patients. Medicare reimbursement doesn’t begin to cover the costs of care. And there’s Medicaid. Here it pays about ten cents on the dollar. It’s a miracle most hospitals can keep their doors open.