General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: "Obamacare saved consumers billions, new report finds" [View all]IronLionZion
(45,380 posts)Do you want to pay cash for treatment at whatever rate providers feel like charging you? Good luck paying for care without an evil middleman to do some collective bargaining on behalf of their members. And forget about sharing risk amongst the pool. You're on your own.
The middlemen are using their bargaining power to force transparent pricing for routine procedures, so patients can have some choice. There is no fairness or any sense at all in the pricing of medical procedures across providers in the same city for the exact same patient with the same equipment and supplies and treatment. Medicare/medicaid pays less for procedures than any insurance company could ever dream of, but you probably know that don't you?
Revenue/profit is the only thing that motivates many providers to even exist. Good luck with free clinics.