martyirish;1184589 wrote:overcharge those who pay to take care of the bills for those who don't pay.
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That's exactly what happens.
The money has to come from somewhere - doctors, nurses, technicians, and those who support them don't work for free. Medical equipment manufacturers don't donate all those million-dollar-plus scanners, and the drug companies aren't in the habit of giving away their products, either.
We have socialized health care coverage right now - we just have a different cash flow than we would under a single-payer or nationalized health pool. Medicare reimbursement is basically a break-even proposition for providers, and Medicaid pays 50%-65% of the cost of providing care. Hospitals also write off 25% or more of their "off the street" billings as bad debt. That leaves employer/Taft-Hartley -based insurance plans and self-pay procedures to make up the rest.
I heard an ad for the James Cancer center on the radio the other day - "Why settle for a 'routine' mammogram? You want a JAMES mammogram." The problem is that the James Cancer Center (and their associated physicians) typically negotiate a contract with the insurance carriers that is about 20-25% higher than than the other facilities in the Columbus area, as the services they typically provide are not available elsewhere in the community (Pediatric hospitals do this as well). When they can run "routine services" service through on this contract, their profit margin is much higher than if they patient had gone next door to the OSU facilities.
We all (myself included) want the very best health care available out there when we need it (and sometimes when we don't) - but someone has to pay for it somewhere, somehow.
