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Health-Care Costs Out of Control?

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  • Description

    FBN's Gerri Willis on the mounting costs of health-care.

  • Duration 3:13
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Imagine this you're 64 years old and you get severe chest -- sitting on yourself at home.

But chances are you might just -- in the ambulance that's what Janice in Connecticut recently did she was taken four miles to an emergency room.

At Stamford hospital which is officially a nonprofit institution.

After three hours of tests and the visit with the doctor she was told she didn't have a heart attack just indigestion.

That's the good news the bad news is that she was charged 21000.

Dollars for the false alarm.

That's 995 for the ambulance right 3000 for the doctors and 171000.

For the hospital.

That's one of C liberals many anecdotes illuminating a story on the rat's nest this health care services pricing in billing.

We split -- twice as much we spend twice as much as most nations 20% of GDP on health care.

The story appears this week in time magazine put another way.

We spend more on health care in the next ten big spenders combined Japan and Germany France China the UK.

Italy Canada Brazil Spain and Australia.

More than those combined US health care spending will probably total nearly three trillion dollars this year alone.

You think we spent a lot of money cleaning up new York New Jersey Connecticut after hurricane sandy.

What we spent almost that much last week on health care.

Why -- costs so out of control.

Well -- -- -- the system is run by the sellers -- the services not the consumers.

But any five people in the emergency room for treatment for the exact same condition -- -- likely to get five totally different bills to betting on their insurance coverage.

But he points out the medical establishment is becoming very wealthy under this system.

CEOs of nonprofit hospitals are pulling down six figure salaries.

And the government predicts that ten of the twenty fastest growing occupations are in health care.

The industry -- the aerospace and oil and gas sectors on lobbying think of that.

The health care complex has replaced the military industrial complex as the business with the most political muscle.

For consumers of health care actually able to shop around for service maybe they can make a difference.

That rarely happens let's face it when you're on the right on a dirty don't necessarily ask for a price estimate that may -- we -- Prescription drug prices in this country -- 50% higher than other countries.

Some market discipline needs to be introduced into the system currently Medicare doesn't even negotiate prices on drugs.

But a true threat to drugs that is have the same effects and one is five times surprise should the government choose the cheaper one.

Look I understand the need for Medicare patients -- get help paying bills but.

Why why can -- Medicare patient get a free ride or nearly free ride for catastrophic care.

When those without any insurance -- bills that are unlocked payable why is cancer a million dollar treatment -- for anybody but -- Medicare in Raleigh.

Unfortunately obamacare did nothing to solve these problems because it focused on who pays for care rather than how in the heck can we stop the increase in health care prices.

And that's a problem the need solving.

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