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Comment by rinze | Hacker News Reader

What a strange concept, "hospital price".

Why? What do you think pays for the "hospital cost"?

(That's not to say there aren't MANY opportunities to reduce the price and cost, starting with complying with the law to post prices, which many hospitals don't adhere to because the current administration isn't enforcing the EO)

Pretty sure he's just writing commentary on the US not having a single payer healthcare system

I posed my question to warrant a discussion from either the commentary or faithful statement regardless of their intent.

Mainly to understand the expectations, values, and reasoning.

I don't think the concept is lost on any half intelligent adult that running a hospital has expenses and has to be paid by someone. The commentary is accurate that's is messed up to have a "price", like something is being sold. Having hospitals run off funding by taxpayers isn't a price any more than the military buying an F35 having a per-American price (and no one thinks of it that way)

> The commentary is accurate that's is messed up to have a "price", like something is being sold.

Services are being sold, whether it's private or government ran.

> Having hospitals run off funding by taxpayers isn't a price any more than the military buying an F35 having a per-American price (and no one thinks of it that way)

It is a price, so is the F35, and yes more people should think that way. Whether it's being paid for via taxes collected or paid directly is irrelevant.

The problem is not the method of collection of payment (taxes or direct) but the corruption of administrators.

Spoken like an American. In other countries where healthcare is not paid for by the government, the prices are readily available.

Here are some examples:

https://www.ktph.com.sg/patients/hospital-charges

https://www.sgh.com.sg/patient-care/visiting-specialist/char...

I was going to say. Singapore has universal healthcare and they want all patients to have “skin in the game”.

So even if you’re destitute you need to pay something within your means, even if it’s $5 for a hospital stay.

There’s always a price, you just may not pay directly.

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