I understand whst he’s saying about medical costs, and why does an MRI cost so much.
This may stir the pot, but I’ve seen complaints here on Free Republic sometimes, about how much medical procedures cost, and how much a dentist charges, and for that reason, those people gonto Mexico for medical and dental work.
Easily solved by forcing medical providers to publish their cash prices. The industry engages in massive anti-trust violations, and it pays off the political classes to look the other way. Squeezing the fraud out of the system would incur a massive, short-term GDP hit, but would lead to a much healthier economy going forward. But no politician is willing to endure that hit on his/her watch, so the $20,000 MRI's continue.
There are RICO indictments just begging to be filed against the management of every major hospital system in America...if Barr needs anything else to do.
Medical and dental costs really ARE sky high and the reason is government meddling. I’m 75, I clearly recall when if you moved to a new town and you felt sick and did not know anyone you could simply go to a doctor’s office, walk in and tell them your situation and they would invite you to sit down and you would be “worked in”. Usually you would see a doctor within two hours and pay a charge of around five dollars. Nowadays you would have to go to the emergency room and the charge would be from five HUNDRED up. I also recall having dental work done and paying with a twenty and waiting for my change. I don’t know if dental insurance existed then but no one of my acquaintance seemed to think we needed it. When Jimmy Carter was in office one dental clinic near me advertised that they could give you a “Jimmy Carter” smile for $300.00, that was their fee to pull all your remaining teeth and fit you with a full set of dentures.
Among the multitude of reasons for the outrageous costs for medical, dental, and optical care North of Mexico is the ridiculous level of litigiousness caused by an overabundance of lawyers.
Every big award against a doctor, nurse, or medical facility comes out of YOUR pocket eventually, whether it’s through the premiums your doctor pays for insurance, or your having to travel excessive distances because there are no specialists near you.
Having government involved just makes it worse. I have no idea how we can fix this, but something is going to break, and I think it’s going to be sooner than later. G_d help us all at that point.