Tell me if this sounds familiar:
Disposable gloves: $30
Teddy bear: $60
Toothbrush: $1,000
Remember when we heard about the military charging erroneous prices for the most mundane items? But these aren’t for the latest soldier’s personal kit. They’re items from a medical bill.
Yesterday morning on Dolan Unscripted, the Dolans talked about rip-offs, ending with these grievous errors on hospital bills. According to the National Healthcare Anti-Fraud Association, some $51 billion was lost to fraud and overcharging.
These are hardly honest mistakes and point to why some libertarians would like to see health care completely pulled out of the public sector. Not only would more competition lower prices and improve quality, these kinds of errors would be far less likely. I’m not going to worry about a $1,000 toothbrush if it’s not my money, but I’ll be damned if I spend that much at Wal-Mart.
Sunday, July 10, 2005
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1 comment:
You mean like how Haliberton overcharged for their services? How about you find out how much private enterprise defrauded others? I'd rather not have a company, focused on profit, be responsible for my health. I don't want them to say, "Sorry Jason, we can't pay for your life-saving treatment. We have to pay for our boat after all." OK they won't say something like that per se, but after learning what the managements of Enron, Tyco, Worldcom, etc act I don't trust with anything that could affect me.
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