I knew it was happening, but it's nice to get confirmation.
Basically, when the government sets what they'll pay a doctor (typically about 60% of what they charge), the doctor has to recoup his/her costs somewhere.
That "somewhere" ends up being by charging more to everyone not on Medicaid.
And people wonder why medical care is so expensive, why optometrists and dentists won't accept Medicaid patients over the age of twelve, and why some doctors won't accept them at all.
20 minutes ago
What the average Joe/Josephine
ReplyDeletedoes realize that the costs of one patient type ("insurance carrier") have always been subsidized by other patient types.
I became aware of this in 1959 (my first health care job).
We can't forget the impact over the last 40 years of care for illegal immigrants--we all pay for them.
The subsidization of customer "bad debts" is always passed
on to paying customers---in all business--not just health care.
Just look at Obama's tax payer bail outs.
There may not be a solution....
I don't really think there is one, but some attempts are worse than others.
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