Why is medical coverage so expensive?

Question

I know why just wanted to see what everone thinks. i live in a small town near columbus ohio. I know of alot of people who have benifits and go to the doctor and get meds, to come home and sell them for alot of money. now imagine how many cities are in the United States.
some people make a whole living this way and it really is just making the cost of medical coverage even higher.
We need to stop these people from doing this it is illegal.

Answer 1

Medical insurance costs a lot because of multiple factors. Medical costs are steadily rising because our population is aging, our population is getting increasingly unhealthy (obesity crisis). This results in increasing usage of medical services.
The medical infrastructure costs a staggering and increasing amount of money to run. Hospital costs are going up. Doctors salaries are increasing.
Medical malpractice lawsuits and related insurance costs are going up. So, doctors and hospitals demand more for their services to cover these additional costs.
Finally, through it all the ultimate customer (the patient) never really sees a bill or the direct costs of the medical services he incurs. So, the health care industry has virtually no pricing mechanism that would find an equilibrium between supply and demand as in all other industries.

Also, as you mentioned there is a lot of scamming going on. Additionally, Medicare and Medicaid government programs don't pay the private sector for the full costs of the medical services it purchases or reimburses. So, there is a lot of cost shifting by hospitals and doctors from Medicare and Medicaid to the private sector.

So, there are a lot of interesting underlying complex issues involved here.

If you want me to clarify any of the above send me an email through "Answer" and I will edit my response accordingly.

Answer 2

Doctors make so much. Meds cost so much. Insurance companies get their cut.