Jim Charter wrote:
> But can you really blame the Health Insurance Industry for 
> everything?

Absolutely not.  If so, then regulation would be an answer.  However, 
part of the problem is systemic, which is why reform is needed.

One of the problems is billing, for instance.  Insurance companies are 
experts at negotiating discount rates for their large volume in order to 
drive their costs down.   The government funds (Medicare and Medicaid) 
look at bills and say, "We'll pay X% of these." Care providers are 
experts at padding bills in order to drive their costs up.

The end result is that, between private insurance & government funds, 
the healthcare industry gets the funds they need to operate, but it's 
only a percentage of their claimed prices.  This doesn't hurt the 
healthcare industry (they still get the money they need), the government 
(they pay what they can and then say "enough") or the insurance 
companies (they negotiate their discounts, remember?).

It hurts people without insurance, because they're left paying the 
inflated sticker price which they can't afford.

...Chambers

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