The Real Reason Hospitals Are So Expensive

Adam Ruins Everything explains in simple language why we need single payer insurance in the U.S. In other words, Medicare for all!

I got a bill from Medicare. My husband spent a short time at the emergency room one night last year. The hospital charged him $2100. medicare determined that the services were worth about $918. Medicare says they'll pay the hospital $800, and they can charge me the other $118, but no more. The real kicker is that if he hadn't had Medicare coverage, we would be stuck for a $2100 bill, inflated so that the hospital could recover part of it. That really hurts anyone with no insurance, or an insurance company that won't pay the bill.