To anyone who has been forced to cough up an out-of-pocket medical payment, whether it be for a routine procedure or a life-saving operation, it comes as no surprise that this country is facing an epidemic of high health care costs.
What many patients don’t recognize is that it’s not just the cost of drugs, or insurance inaccessibility that’s driving up costs for everyday Americans–it’s also the strategic greed of large hospital systems taking over independent practices, adding up to hundreds of billions of dollars for patients and taxpayers.
Like so many people needing care nationwide, my ER patients in West Michigan are regularly faced with an impossible choice–either pay the high price tag and exorbitant fees demanded by these monopolized hospitals or forfeit the treatment they need. This is especially true in rural areas like mine, where health care consolidation is driving up the cost of care for my patients.
Read more here: https://fortune.com/2024/03/07/hospital-monopolies-buying-independent-physicians-hiking-prices-congress-inflation-health-care/
