The cost isn’t in the stiches. It’s in the training, infrastructure, government BS, insurance company BS, etc. that physicians have to put up with. Additional government regulation can only increase the price. I’ve read that when you buy a car, 1/4 to 1/3 of the cost in government regulation, 1/4 in union pension and the rest is divided between variable cost and profit.
I work in HIPAA security for the healthcare industry. The govt released about 800 pages of new rules reinterpreting the thousands of pages of regulations this year.
Now the regulations apply to about 2 million more companies who never had to worry about HIPAA and probably won’t realize it until a govt auditor shows up at their front door.
The average small hospital will spend $1 million to meet the requirements. Bigger hospitals will easily spend $5-10 million. This is just to solve one small area of regulatory compliance.
Next year there will be more changes which will require more money.
I’ll set your broken leg for $100. I have no training or experience but I’m cheap! Hows that for a cost reduction plan.