In his column concerning health care (Aug. 11), Stephen Chapman asserts that federal entitlements, with Medicare a prime example, “are running wild.” He condemns Medicare as a “major reason for soaring health care costs.”
Before placing the sole blame on Medicare, one also must examine the outrageous, unjustified billing practices of the health care industry.
When I was hospitalized recently, one aspirin, which I sent back because it was not authorized, was $5.80. Two small bottles of insulin were $60 each. Two gauze squares-thin enough to see through-were $14.50. The admitting doctor billed $100 for initial office consultation plus $400 for cleansing my wound.
Beyond doubt, there is something gravely wrong with the structure and strategy of Medicare. My hospital bill for three days for treatment of an infected wound was roughly $5,810. But because I am also diabetic and have hypertension, I am ranked in the “disease related group” for which the hospital billed Medicare and was reimbursed $12,324. A Medicare spokesperson explained that this arrangement is set up to compensate for a hospital’s losses. And we wonder why America’s health care system continues in a state of crisis.
