The actual problem with healthcare in the U.S. is not that
there is no universal coverage, but rather the cost of procedures is outrageous.
When you want to know what is wrong with our healthcare system, there is the
need to look past insurance coverage and more into what the insurance is
covering and who decides the cost. The prices of healthcare are inflated
currently, and the Affordable Care Act does not address this issue. It does not
even touch on the actual problem. “Each hospital has an internal price list
called a chargemaster, which contains every single item you may be given or
come in contact with during your hospital stay. The problem is, no one quite
knows how the prices in the chargemaster are created. What is clear is that
there’s absolutely no market feedback to regulate and control the prices that are
charged,” (Mercola, 2013). The term chargemaster sounds like a 1980’s made for
TV sci-fi movie, and few Americans have ever heard the term. But, we should all
be more informed about this list of prices and who regulates it, because the
U.S. pays more for any given procedure or medication than any other powerful
nation. “It costs $13,660 for an American to have a hip replacement in Belgium;
in the U.S., it's closer to $100,000,” (npr.org, 2013). If the government
really wanted to make health care more ‘affordable’ as the bill proclaims,
would it not be logical to address and discuss this issue, rather than force
people to have insurance? Question everything, and question again….
http://www.npr.org/2013/08/07/209585018/paying-till-it-hurts-why-american-health-care-is-so-pricey
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/12/01/officials-obamacare-site-is-better-after-fix-deadline-but-no-magic-moment/
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