by Carol Levy

Created on: June 02, 2008

Dr. Terry O'Neal-Cox asks a simple question: Why are health care costs so unaffordable?

All 3 candidates have put forth plans for some form of universal coverage. Do they really need to address the reasons medical care is so expensive when the reasons are obvious?

As someone who may be on the front lines, Dr. O'Neal-Cox, must see some of the ways in which the public is gouged by medical costs.

When a Tylenol costs a patient $3.00 per tablet something is awry. "Hospitals are notorious for charging outrageous fees for routine medical items and the prescription and over-the-counter medications you usually take-up to four times the price you would pay at the drugstore." states an AARP article.(1)

Medical machinery is very expensive, the cost has to be borne by someone and it is the patient who ultimately pays, via their hospital and office bills. Should these machines be paid for over and over again? That depends on how much profit one thinks doctors and hospitals should be getting.

Many doctors own laboratories and do their own blood work, x-rays, etc.

The AARP articles continues, "Whether you have an annual cholesterol screening or a test for Lyme disease, you'll pay twice as much for blood drawn at the doctor's office as you would if pricked at a lab. At the doctor's, you're charged for a scheduled office visit, for drawing blood, and for sending it to the lab."(2)

The author goes on to say "Three of every four hospital bills include overcharges that average $1,000"(3) Someone has to pay for these errors. The public, through private insurance, out of pocket, or tax subsidized Medicaid and CHIPS, pays these costs.

Doctor's prescribing habits are another cause of spiraling expenses.

"In addition to the 3 billion dollars they spend on direct marketing to consumers, drug companies are spending about 15 billion dollars per year on marketing to doctors.
Most physicians have no idea that the drug companies are spending on average $10,000 per doctor to influence their behavior. Doctors also often overlook what a fiduciary responsibility is, and therefore don't realize that they need to analyze carefully the costs involved in recommending expensive prescription drugs.
Doctors cause patients to divert much of their hard-earned income to the drug companies, which further perpetuates this indirect physician subsidy. All this results in prescription drugs being the fastest-growing category of health care expenditures in the United States."(4)

Patients also drive up costs, and doctors

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