Thread · HN Continuity

I'm not so sure limiting competition is the way to go here. One thing I hate about US healthcare is the lack of price transparency. They would rather shut an entire hospital down before giving you a price sheet. So when outfits like Walmart were looking to get into healthcare and offer basic services like blood tests, checkups, xrays, and common procedures available for flat fees and published prices, the reaction of the US healthcare community was that of a primal scream of terror, and they - specifically hospital groups -- have mobilized an army of lobbyists to try to prevent anyone else from competing.

Hospitals are massive byzantine organizations with so many management layers and so many shady billing techniques, from charging for procedures not performed, to changing what they charge you based on when they find out how much you can pay, it's crazy. What other business forces you to sign a waiver agreeing to pay whatever they decide to charge you, without them telling you what that is, or they will refuse to serve you?