Medical Costs

Today I want to rant about the health care system.  I realize this is not a new topic, even for me. But a fire has been lit under me and I can’t let it go.  It’s bad enough that I am still paying for a procedure done on my daughter 2 years ago and I have almost a year to pay.  Now my dear daughter has tendinitis in both of her wrists and is in excruciating pain.  After the family doctor was of no help we were sent to a specialist.  He said he could give shots to relieve the pain but first we needed MRIs done on each one to find the exact spot where the injection was needed.  It seems like the medication should be less localized than that but then again, I’m still waiting for my MD in the mail.  Regardless, I needed to book the MRIs.  I received an estimate after demanding one from the place recommended by the doctor and they wanted over $1600 per wrist to take the images!  That includes the bit insurance would pay.  That’s outrageous.  At my day job they have this service that shops for the best rates on services before you use them.  Costs were all over the place.  They found one that was only $400.00 per wrist.  I’ll still be paying for a while but at least the number is more manageable.  What I want to know is, how can the same procedure in the same town cost 4x as much at the place recommended by the doctor?  Does he get a kickback?  What makes their equipment so special?  Obviously it does not have to cost that much.  The only rational reason I can think of is that the more expensive place has more overhead than the other.  As consumers, we are being taken advantage of by the healthcare field.  With their arbitrary charges and lack of competition they have made being sick only affordable for the very rich and the very poor.  If you are in the middle, you get the short end of the stick.  It is wrong and needs mending.  Heaven help me if I actually go into the hospital.