Comment by kulahan
Look at any nation that doesn’t have these unbelievably, ridiculously, insanely high costs. This isn’t an unsolved problem, nor is it a sensible one.
What’s with the stupid “here’s the cost” bill you get, followed by the insurance company just, like, deciding things are a different price? What’s with the unreasonably stupid “out of network” medical charges? What’s with the fact that you can walk into a pharmacy and request a discount, but they can’t tell you about it once the transaction has been rung up?
There are SO MANY stupid rules in this system, I literally cannot imagine a system with more low-hanging fruit.
Many of the nations with lower healthcare costs also have step therapy requirements, or simply don't make the most expensive treatments available at all. That is literally one of the cost control mechanisms they use.