But how could it be possible that you pay more?
That used to be the way it worked. You'd go to the doctor and he'd charge you, say, $35 for a basic exam, and you'd pay in cash.
Since health insurance became widespread, now doctors charge crazy amounts. My doctor charges something like $210 for a basic exam, or $185 for the "negotiated rate" to the insurance company.
I saw on television once that the reason we're in this mess has to do with WWII. With so many working-age people fighting overseas, finding workers was hard for companies, so they started raising wages. The government was afraid of war + inflation, so it put limits on pay raises. So, instead, big companies started offering health care benefits. And thus, an industry was born.
At least that's what I remember from the TV. I can't cite the show or channel, but I do watch a lot of PBS and virtually zero YouTube.
The price a doctor charges per hour doesn’t go directly in his pocket. That hourly cost has to cover support staff, the facilities, liability insurance, his accountant, etc.
The US health care system doesn't make sense.
Health insurance began as a perk to attract more qualified people and became the expected norm at some point and typically covered the entire family. When that no longer made sense for employers, benefits began eroding and it became more common for benefits to only cover the employee. Employees had to pay extra to cover family. Then the ACA decided the way we fix this mess is we require everyone to purchase insurance.
It's crazy enough that I would seriously consider leaving the country if I thought there was any way for me to pull that off. But I don't see that as at all feasible currently.
Which, by the way, is absurd to me as an American. I think at this point most Americans agree there are major flaws in our system, it’s just a disagreement about how to fix it.
It isn't designed to make sense, it's designed to obfuscate.