One interesting point is that you hear a lot about hospitals having to write off the cost of care of illegal aliens. You get "Illegal aliens cost us $x billion!" But really, if you look at how this is computed, that's not making sense. They would have gotten 1/3 or less of that $x billion if the bills had been paid through insurance.

It makes me think that inherently, hospitals are very unfair places.

It's interesting that when I get insurance, it appears that I'm paying as much for the insurance company's negotiating power than anything else. Personally, I would rather pay for the care myself and regulate cost that way, but I have no negotiating power.

The problem is, I don't think I got $3,000 worth of care, let alone $8,000. Maybe $1,000 at most.

It costs about $1,000 a WEEK to stay in a hospital in the Philippines, by the way. And from what I can see, the quality of care is lower but far better than the cost difference would indicate.

I've changed my diet to limit carbohydrates to some extent. (I found low-carbohydrate popcorn, which is about half the carbohydrates of goldfish, which I no longer eat :-( ).

If you consider these wildly inflated bills and costs, it seems to me like hospitals should be making huge profits. Why are they so often insolvent? And frankly why should I have any sympathy for institutions that clearly abuse the poor and insolvent, by overcharging so blatantly?

Maybe if they could figure out a way to charge reasonable fees, the poor and middle class might be able to pay them.

D

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