I ran across this story (http://www.charlotte.com/business/story/453230.html) and a thought suddenly struck me after having read any number of other similar stories about other insurers.
Insurers can apparently post their fees which they pay for services on the Internet. Thereby allowing patients and other insurance companies to see what they are paying for any particular service or procedure. In this way the insurers can gather this data and adjust their fees to the lowest common denominator. Today this is called “Transparency” I guess.
If the providers were to share their fees amongst themselves this would be called “Collusion” in apparent violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.
I hope this insanity ends while there are still a medical provider or two still in practice because at this rate there will be nobody left to treat the public. Of course then healthcare costs will plummet to zero which I guess is the ultimate objective of this medicine or in our case therapy death spiral.
