@guizzy "Your costs are inflated and out of control because you subsidize the costs of treating people who can't pay with increased costs for those who will at least try to pay."

I agree with this and in general with the whole thing.

However, three other big cost accelerants are lawyers, pharmaceutical companies, and insurers (including Medicare & MedicAid). Because of lawyers, every medical professional and every medical facility pays money to the insurance companies. Lawyers also work with pharmaceutical companies to extend patent protection (and generic-free) periods and to otherwise prevent competing companies from producing the same medications and selling them for lower prices. And the same medications that cost one price in another country will cost dramatically more in the US.

And back to insurance companies. Each insurer attempts to negotiate price discounts and limits to allowed exams / treatments in exchange for volume guarantees. This practice means that patients that pay for things themselves pay quite a bit more than patients whose insurer pays, even though insurance paperwork adds a lot of cost and delays payment.

I have a blog article in my mind where I discuss the pricing issues and explain why there is not and never can be a free market in medicine. It will also go into US constitutional issues and propose a work-around.