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167 points ceejayoz | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0.24s | source
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bandrami ◴[] No.43665446[source]
I wish more people were asking “why does the hospital charge such absurdly high fees?” instead of “why is Blue Cross trying to not pay those absurdly high fees?”
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energy123 ◴[] No.43665519[source]
This. Even if you eliminated all profit margins of insurers you only decrease medical costs in the US by a tiny fraction, still leaving you far worse off than in other countries. They suck, but they're a cheap scapegoat for simpleton populists who don't know or don't want to fix the actual problems.

https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/insurance-companies-arent-the-...

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jjav ◴[] No.43669287[source]
> Even if you eliminated all profit margins of insurers you only decrease medical costs in the US by a tiny fraction

This is completely wrong.

A general practicioner doctor is unlikely to be making much more than 300K, or $144/hr. But my visit to said doctor costs $450 for 15 minutes, or $1800/hr.

Many people are making a fortune out of the system, the money is not going to the person doing useful work, the doctor. Where is the other $1656/hr disappearing?

Eliminate all those grifters from the loop and I could go see this doctor for $36 per 15min visit. Heck I wouldn't even need insurance, I can pay that out of pocket.

Sure, I'm ignoring rent/utilities/supplies, so it'd be a bit more than $36 but those costs are a tiny percentage. In any case it'd be less than $50, far below the current $450.

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1. energy123 ◴[] No.43669368[source]
You say it's wrong but then don't do your working properly. The $1656 isn't going to the insurer. Read the article.