[riverrunner]

The real answer is to do away with insurance and let the free market take over.

Insurance makes a unnatural market allowing the providers to charge unrealistic prices for services rendered.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Given the absurd gymnastics that hospitals and doctors must go through to actually collect their payment from insurance, they could likely cut their fees 50% or more by going cash fee-for-service.

[chuckles]

I agree in theory, but you have to realize the reason we are here today is because Medicare and Medicaid are an un natural market. Insurance came into vogue after the gubmint said we will pay anything for whatever and started to inflate prices. Insurance was a stop gap measure to allow middle class users to keep up. The way to fix this would be to deregulate insurance to let them back in the market, then, down the road to look at medical WITHOUT insurance. I'm not sure you would ever get that toothpaste back in the tube.

Back in the day,( yes, I'm that old), we could have a gall bladder removed on the easy payment plan. Today, even that operation would be like buying a new Astin Martin on a WalMart salary. I'm not sure how many doctors today would take chickens for payment either.

[cuban leaf]

The real answer is to do away with insurance and let the free market take over.
Insurance makes a unnatural market allowing the providers to charge unrealistic prices for services rendered.

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Yup. We dont have a car insurance crisis. That is becaus the person buying the insurance is also the person using it, and they can shop a competitive market.