The BIG health care problem that could be costing you hundreds of dollars a year

From Dr. David Eifrig in Retirement Millionaire:
Medicine is big business. The hope that Obama or any group can change it magically and turn it into a quiet garden where perfect vegetables and fruits are grown and freely shared in the town square is wishful thinking.
An article in Smart Money magazine shows how costs are going up dramatically as local hospitals increase their market share of delivering health care. The story described the "acquisition spree that's in full swing," and how hospitals buying up independent physician practices around the country are leading to higher costs and headaches.
For example, a stress test done by an independent cardiologist in Milwaukee is $170 - but $240 at the local hospital, Aurora Health Care. Or a sleep study performed in Orlando, Florida: $780 versus $1,140. The list goes on.
The other problem with big business taking over is that no one is measuring the outcomes of the care delivered. And they won't because of the clear conflict of interest. For-profit hospitals are in business to make money, not worry about good care. And that's leading to exploding prices for things... and worsening care.
For example, in Springfield, Illinois, an exam for strep throat might cost $400. Yet an independent pediatrician in Chapel Hill charges only $12 for the rapid strep test - the deciding factor whether to treat or not treat with antibiotics.
This sort of pricing doesn't make sense. How much is the doctor's technique of swabbing the throat worth to society? And the power to prescribe medicine? Let's be generous and say the exam takes 10 minutes (really, it's more like two minutes).
If a doctor's practice is going to make $200,000 a year, it needs to charge $100 an hour - about $16 for the 10-minute exam. Even if we double it ($32) for 50% overhead, and add the cost of the test, the practice could justify a $50 charge. But $400?
We're letting large hospitals and corporate arms of insurers share in the fees for imaging exams, diagnostic analyses, and other pools of money that doctors once owned. Letting big government shift the money from local doctors to big corporations is a tactic that won't improve your health care. Please don't trust new government programming to make your health care any better. It won't, it's impossible when the goals are this misaligned.
Crux Note: Each issue of Dr. David Eifrig's Retirement Millionaire is loaded with ideas to help you save money, invest wisely, and live better... and it just might save your life. In his latest issue, Doc tells readers why its time to fire their doctors, and what to do instead. To learn more about Retirement Millionaire, click here.
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