High Cost of Staying Healthy in the U.S - Assignment Example

It cites the partnership of most hospitals and private insurance companies as one reason for the fee hike. The insurance companies have power in negotiating with hospitals over a patient covered by them. They pinpoint the hospital in their grid of providers. Insured patients can get discounts that are thirty to fifty percent beyond low Medical care charges. Zuckerman (2) further adds that doctors tend to over-test to avoid malpractice and misdiagnosis to avoid malpractice and misdiagnosis. The high-tech devices used in the hospitals drive the costs to bizarre levels too.

The author of the article has used information from the analysis of works of medical practitioners. For example, he has cited Steven Brill, who initially exposed the impact of insurance companies on hospitals. The study also has much of its information from the federal government sources such as where it points out that readmissions alone cost over $25 billion a year and that medical care budget may well hit $600 billion this year. It is through statistics like those and statistics from related reports by government departments and other authors that the authors are able to add gravity in their deliberations on the matter.