A former US surgeon general says he went to the ER for dehydration and ended up with a $5,000 bill. He called the healthcare system 'broken.'

return2ozma@lemmy.world to News@lemmy.world – 930 points –
A former US surgeon general says he went to the ER for dehydration and ended up with a $5,000 bill. He called the healthcare system 'broken.'
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If a hospital puts even the most routine care at an inaccessible price point, I would consider that a black mark on their ability to deliver service.

The only part of my post you didn't quote was the part where I said I think all healthcare in this country is overpriced. I agree with what you said here, and I'm not sure why your post seems so hostile.

Hospitals have finite resources. The most skilled and ambitious health care professionals should be using their talents to help people with the most challenging illnesses, not spending their time on routine (but still life-saving) treatments.

I think all healthcare in this country is overpriced

That's cool. So why defend an obvious case of overpriced health care by insisting the clinic is exceptional? An exceptional clinic would - presumably - be exceptionally accessible. Throughput is as much a function of quality as individual results.

Hospitals have finite resources.

That's fine. Dehydrated people require a finite medical intervention.

The most skilled and ambitious health care professionals

Are not required to administer a saline drip.

So why defend an obvious case of overpriced health care by insisting the clinic is exceptional?

Please point out where you think I was defending overpriced health care, so I can clear up this misunderstanding once and for all.

The best doctors and nurses should get paid the most.

You're using an arbitrary metric (best doctor) to assign a discrete value (most pay). That's inevitably going to result in every doctor with a high opinion of oneself to charge a higher rate than their peers.

The end result is overpriced care.

The mental gymnastics it took for you to make that leap is impressive. Do you think all doctors put the same amount of effort into their work? I can tell you from personal experience that some doctors are pretty lazy and don't deserve above-average pay. On the other hand, some truly go above and beyond.