[mindslight]

It feels like you're just skipping the core of my points and repeating the justification that has allowed the situation to get this bad. The fake prices and 50-100% discounts are indeed symptoms of a pathological behavior that indicates it's not about true good-faith "discounts".

One straightforward healthcare reform that could be done tomorrow would be to mandate that providers must charge the same price no matter who is paying, rather than the current behavior of operating pricing cartels in league with the insurance companies. This would work even if the government kept giving itself a pass by excepting Medicare.

[Guvante]

And if a provider keeps charging the same amount only now they actually get it because the law requires that insurance companies pay in certain instances?

My point is just that providers raising their prices to give insurance companies a bigger discount is a problem but getting a discount isn't itself flawed.

[mindslight]

You keep outright ignoring my point, and then simply asserting that you don't see a problem. A bill from the provider shows a fake cost that they're demanding you reimburse them, and also a fake payment from the insurance company. Those are lies to make you think you are getting a benefit that you are not actually getting. That's called fraud.