[rhuppert]

One of the major problems with U.S. healthcare is that, financially speaking, patients have been increasingly taken out of the mix beginning in the fifties. Providers and insurance carriers shield consumers from actual costs giving a false impression of the value of competent healthcare. Insurance companies’ reimbursement rates are a fraction of the billed amount. Of course, it is the person without insurance, who is stuck with what can be a very inflated invoice. Of course, there are manifold problems with this industry; but until patients are exposed to accurate financial comparisons, the costs will continue to escalate.