Originally Posted by ilovetv

The statements I highlighted above in the quote are so telling in all of this mess.

I would add to the last sentence: "and when the patient stopped getting the check for the insurance claim, and it started going directly to the provider/doctor. When patients do not pay the dr. themselves, they have no incentive to look at the costs, nor to question overbillings, nor to look elsewhere for a better price from another provider."

As for djplong's grandmother's horrendous "care", medical care itself depends so much on the individual physician. There are quacks in every area of the country and there are quacks in every profession. Healthcare overall in the U.S. should not be characterized by a quack like that guy. There are also crappy hospitals here and there, but overall, most are not like that one.

I hate to see the excellent doctors and hospitals we've had be characterized and lumped in with charlatans like that.

As for the apparent malpractice done to Grandma, I would much prefer to have the ability to sue for malpractice than to have a single-payer government healthcare system for all, in which there is no ability to sue for malpractice. Does anyone really think the government would provide malpractice insurance for its doctors and other providers? I don't think so.