“Fifty hospitals in the United States are charging uninsured…

"Fifty hospitals in the United States are charging uninsured consumers more than 10 times the actual cost of patient care… …By comparison, the researchers said, a typical U.S. hospital charges 3.4 times the cost of patient care…

…“They are marking up the prices because no one is telling them they can’t.”… …It’s virtually impossible to find out ahead of time from the hospital how much a procedure or stay in the facility is going to cost. Once the bill arrives, many Americans have difficulty understanding them…

…Most hospital patients covered by private or government insurance don’t pay full price because insurers and programs like Medicare negotiate lower rates for their patients… …But the millions of Americans who don’t have insurance don’t have anyone to negotiate on their behalf."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/why-some-hospitals-can-get-away-with-price-gouging-patients-study-finds/2015/06/08/b7f5118c-0aeb-11e5-9e39-0db921c47b93_story.html @[100083442493805:2048:OneCare U.S. – Single Payer Coalition]

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