Getting rid of health insurance would work wonders. Of course we'd have to also get rid of Medicare for maintenance too and just have catastrophic policies private or government.
Same as if we get rid of subsidized housing the price would reflect what people can really afford to pay.

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Getting rid of health insurance doesn't address a $200 doctors office visit, cash price. Why is it that high?
The Average Cost for Medical Malpractice Insurance | eHow.com

Staff wages are part of labor cost, and just imagine wage costs if they were unionized. All those lovely overhead costs, driven up by fuel costs, energy taxes, real estate taxes, malpractice suits, etc, etc.....

Cash cost for walking into my GP's office: Office visit: $120. Diagnosis: $20. Shot of antibiotic in the butt, $20, plus drug costs of $45. (for a lousy half a needle!).

Did you know that it is ILLEGAL to go to a doctors office and not tell them you have insurance? It is also illegal for a doctor to knowingly provide services to a patient who has insurance and not file with the insurance? That it's illegal for a doctor to charge a patient with insurance cash prices?

Last but not least, just because your doctor referes you to a specialist, doesn't mean he knows anything about the specialist he is refering you to. He is REQUIRED by the insurance company to only refer you to doctors who participate in their program, even if he thinks someone else is better able to handle your issue, he can loose his contract with the insurance company if he violates it.

They've got us all by the cajones. I'd love to get rid of the health insurance industry as it exists today. But that is not feasible until the underlying cost factors are addressed firts, and that won't happen until we squash the lobbyists.

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"Try and fathom the hypocrisy of a Government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured, but not everyone must prove they are a citizen".

Well lobbyists yes, and most of those that are malevolent imho are insurance lobbyists.
Medicare and insurance made the provider bills go up. That's all I know

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