Healthcare costs; A bitter pill

When asked "why does healthcare cost so much?", politicians and others only talk about insurance cost. A discussion targeting insurance cost is just what the healthcare industry want and politicians (needing to finance their next campaign) keep directing media to. The control of the conversation is made possible with lobbying money from device makers, hospital groups and pharmaceutical industry.*

This redirection of the conversation reminds me of giving a horse a shot. To give a horse a shot in the hind end, someone puts their fingers up it's nose and twist. The horse concentrates on the pain in its nose while a second person gives them a shot without getting kicked.

If a gas station charges 50 percent more for gas after a natural disaster, the media (and most of us) cry foul! When a customer is charged $70 for a $2 gauze pad in the hospital there is no push back. Why? All too often the reaction is "Don't worry, your insurance covers it."

To better understand our healthcare in the USA please read the comprehensive report (or summary) which first appeared in Time Magazine "Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us," by Steven Brill. It's available all over the web.

*In 2016, 1,372 lobbyist in the pharmaceutical/Health Products Industry spent $244 million in Washington.

Paul Herzberger, Cape Girardeau