Posted by Leonard Steinberg on May 8th, 2013

I have repeatedly griped about the huge (un-constitutional)disparity in the way real estate taxes are assessed in New York: the range is often so large between very simlar properties that it would be laughable if it were not that sad. The system is driven politically, and this same reckless abuse of the taxpayer and consumer is now being fully revealed by a study conducted into the costs of health care.

In Saint Augustine, Fla., one hospital billed nearly $40,000 to remove a gallbladder, while one in Orange Park, Fla., charged $91,000. In one hospital in Dallas, the average bill for treating simple pneumonia was $14,610, while another charged over $38,000.

Data being released for the first time by the government shows that hospitals charge Medicare wildly differing amounts — sometimes 10 to 20 times what Medicare typically reimburses — for the same procedure, raising questions about how hospitals determine prices and why they differ so widely.   The data for 3,300 hospitals, released by the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, shows wide variations not only regionally but among hospitals in the same area or city.

Government officials said that some of the variation might reflect the fact that some patients were sicker or required longer hospitalization. Nonetheless, the data is likely to intensify a long debate over the methods that hospitals use to determine their charges.

Medicare does not actually pay the amount a hospital charges but instead uses a system of standardized payments to reimburse hospitals for treating specific conditions. Private insurers do not pay the full charge either, but negotiate payments with hospitals for specific treatments. Since many patients are covered by Medicare or have private insurance, they are not directly affected by what hospitals charge.

Bankers are held accountable for their fee abuses, and they have to disclose their fees CLEARLY…..why aren’t hospitals and doctors held to the same standard? Why is it that one of the single largest expenses to the consumer is so grossly unregulated? For our economy to truly flourish, we should all understand that extreme health care costs are a form of taxation on the consumer and corporations that slows growth and job creation. Entitlement costs are bankrupting states who …..here are some facts to ponder:

***According to the World Health Organization, the United States spent more on health care per capita ($7,146), and more on health care as percentage of its GDP (15.2%), than any other nation in 2008. ***The Commonwealth Fund ranked the United States last in the quality of health care among similar countries, and notes U.S. care costs the most.                                                                                                       ***A 2001 study in five states found that medical debt contributed to 46.2% of all personal bankruptcies and in 2007, 62.1% of filers for bankruptcies claimed high medical expenses. Since then, health costs and the numbers of uninsured and underinsured have increased.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             *** A 2013 study found that about 25% of all senior citizens declare bankruptcy due to medical expenses.                                                                                                                                                                                ***It is estimated that a 1% increase in the unemployment rate would increase Medicaid and SCHIP enrollment by 1 million, and increase the number uninsured by 1.1 million. State spending on Medicaid and SCHIP would increase by $1.4 billion (total spending on these programs would increase by $3.4 billion). This increased spending would occur at the same time state government revenues were declining.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         ***The healthcare industry — including HMOs, health professionals, hospitals and nursing homes, and pharmaceuticals — contributed $825 million to candidates for federal office from 1990-2008.    ***The healthcare industry spent $3.4 billion to lobby the federal government on health policy matters from 1998-2008, including $480 million in 2008 alone.                                                                       ***Annual contributions from the healthcare industry increased sevenfold from $21.9 million in 1990 to nearly $150 million in 2008, placing it in the top three contributing industries to Congress and the President.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           ***In nine out of ten election cycles from 1990-2008, the healthcare industry directed the majority of its campaign contributions to the political party in power.                                                              ***Republicans received 57% of total healthcare industry contributions while Democrats received 43% of industry contributions from 1990-2008.                                                                                                  ***The top twenty recipients of healthcare industry contributions from 1990-2008 included an equal number of Democrats and Republicans.

We are all being robbed, and no-one is doing anything about it: will this newly revealed awareness change anything?