[yardie]

> you can get a major knee surgery for your dog for a small fraction of what they charge for humans.

I mean you can't really compare vet bills to surgery bills. Veterinarians have actual price constraints where the owner is willing to put their foot down once it gets beyond a certain point. They love their pets but they aren't willing to go financially insolvent for them.

No such constraint exists for American healthcare. You pay what they tell you until you are destitute and on Medicaid.

> by mandating they advertise true prices

I think most Americans want this to be the solution and it still won't work unless there is pressure on the entire system. Doctors, hospitals, surgery theaters, radiology, and diagnostics have such complex billing that even if you could price compare are you even capable of understanding what those options do?

[ivalm]

Well, the start would be mandating that the cost must be same to all patients. Which means that uninsured/underinsured patients will face bills no greater than the payout the medical professionals get from large health insurance companies. Part of the problem is that no only are the prices not transparent (for comparison shopping), they are also different for different buyers.