If you are living in the United States and do not have a health insurance, be aware! Once you are sick, and taken to a hospital, it is sure to fall heavily on your pocket – as the hospital will charge you ‘two-and-a-half times more’, compared to those with health insurance.
Despite pressure to level prices, the U.S. hospitals are steadily rising the charges for the uninsured patients, a new study found.
This number has been rising steadily since 1984, only to increase the curb more steeply since 2000, the analysis into the US government data reveals.
The study is published in the May-June issue of the journal Health Affairs.
The reform efforts do not seem to be strong enough to lessen the price discrepancies. Eventually, the US hospitals have come under fire both from patient groups as well as lawmakers.
The author of the study, Gerard Anderson, also the director of the center for hospital finance and management at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Public Health, said
The mark-up on hospital care for these individuals, especially for those who can afford it least, is unjustifiable.
It is unfortunate that the ‘profit hospitals’ had the highest discrepancy between costs estimated by Medicare and prices charged.
If developing countries with such poor ‘economy-population ratio’ can afford it, why can’t a rich country with comparatively ‘low population ratio’ afford lower-cost health facilities to its citizens?
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