We have all heard about the Industrial
Military Complex where wars are fought simply to make some people
rich. I came to the conclusion that there is also the Industrial
Medical Complex. I wrote in The
Costs Of Government Controlled Health Care about a doctor who
bought an MRI machine so he could do scans far cheaper than medical
centers. He was quickly shut down by state regulators.
I just read an article where a woman
went to her family doctor for a sore throat. She was going on a trip
and wanted to make sure she didn't have Strep Throat. A few swabs
later she was on her way home with no antibiotics. A few days later,
her throat was better and she was away on her trip. On her return
home, she had a medical bill in the mail for $28,395.50. Her
insurance company was going to pay $25,865.24.
The reason for this is, the doctor sent
the swab to an out of network laboratory. If he had sent the samples
to an in-network lab, the cost would have been only $653. Why he sent
the sample to an out of network lab isn't important. The big question
is, if one lab can do the test for $653, why can't all labs? We're
told an in-network lab is cheaper because they negotiate prices with
the insurance company. I'll bet that in-network lab is still turning
a profit.
