Most Senate Republicans are licking their wounds this week after several failed attempts of replacing or repealing the American Care Act. While we’re certain Sen. Mike Enzi will undoubtedly blame those darn Democrats for those repeated failures, conveniently overlooking the fractured nature of the GOP, what politicians aren’t addressing is why healthcare is so expensive in the first place. The rhetoric circulating around the ACA essentially boils down to an argument about who and how the bill should be paid and doesn’t delve into questions about how the bill is created or what the true costs of medicines or procedures are compared to what is reflected in the final bill.
The simple fact is many hospitals bill patients at an incredible markup, which is the root of the healthcare debate. We can’t make specific claims regarding Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County, Castle Rock Hospital District or Aspen Mountain Medical Center, but evidence exists supporting the claim that hospitals overcharge for their services.
In economic terms, the demand for healthcare services is naturally high. Like gasoline, the price of going to a hospital or even a product like an EpiPen can increase significantly, but still attract customers because they are necessary goods and services for a lot of people.
Why are prices so high in the first place? The reasons are numerous and can range anywhere from a pharmaceutical company becoming the sole producer of an important drug and setting that drug’s price to hospitals billing patients based on what insurance companies are willing to pay for procedures, which can be much different than the actual cost of the drugs, equipment and employee time involved.
If healthcare were truly a concern, the cost of healthcare is where lawmakers would, and should, focus their attention. The more pessimistic side of our thinking would argue this won’t happen as the health and pharmaceutical industries are major campaign contributors to congressmen in Washington, D.C. That includes our very own Sen. Mike Enzi and Wyoming’s Doctor Sen. John Barrasso. According to Opensecrets.org, Sen. Barrasso’s campaign finances are very dependent on donations from those involved in various healthcare industries.
Sure, that could be chalked up to his personal involvement in the industry, but information from Opensecrets.org shows Sen. Enzi’s campaigns also have benefited greatly from those industries.
However, if we’re going to truly solve the problems associated with healthcare, the skyrocketing cost of care is the root that should be examined.
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