[Spooky23]

There's more to that story. Typically the problem is that there are too many hospital beds, not too few.

Outpatient treatment is increasingly more popular and more cost effective. Hospitals often raise costs by introducing massive capital costs that need to be amortized as well as other overheads.

With the exception of lower-cost, higher value primary care, there are rarely any meaningful access issues to doctors in metro areas. Those shortages are largely being addressed with PAs and NPs.

[Consultant32452]

>Typically the problem is that there are too many hospital beds, not too few.

I'd be interested in a citation for this because it's counter to basic economic theory of supply and demand. If the supply outpaces demand, then the price should be going down, not up.

[Spooky23]

ECO 101 fails all over the place.

Here's an example. A quick good will find you many more. http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20150221/magazine/30...

Medical services are a complex market. It's nonsensical to randomly apply basic economic principles without knowing what you are doing. (Good luck telling congress that) The smart thing to do is to make primary care more accessible -- you'd be able to close many hospitals and improve outcomes.

[Consultant32452]

I see what you mean, but the over-priced beds are just a temporary phenomenon while smaller more agile competitors are killing the large facilities. In the end, cheaper service for health care is still being found from new competitors moving into the market.