[alwann]

You got off easy.

The entire system of Medicare, health insurance and costs for treatment is a bigger mystery than black holes in space, as far as I’m concerned.

It‘s like an episode of “Get Smart.” Would You Believe…?
Hospital: “Our cost for this is $25,000.” Medicare: “We’ll pay only 50 percent.” Hospital: “Okay but, uh, actually our costs are $50,000.” Medicare: “Okay.”

My spouse and I both recently had outpatient surgery procedures. Neither one of us was in the hospital for more than four hours. Each our bills for the procedures was nearly $30,000. The surgeons’ share was in the $2,500 range. One would think a highly trained medical professional, like a surgeon, would get more. But, no, the big money went for use of the operating room, bandages, recovery room, oxygen, anesthesia and other incidentals. No fewer than three anesthetists came in, each repeating the same questions, and getting their tickets punched. Thank goodness insurance covered everything but the co-pays. And my point is, if the costs were true and reasonable, I might not even need expensive health insurance. Oh, right. The law says I do.