A two-part series published in theTampa Bay Timesexposed outrageous unregulated charges by Florida trauma centers. The argument for marketplace medicine rings hollow when patients are charged $33,000 for the hospital trauma team call-up.
That is the cover charge; other bills come later. Total bills can tally up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Trauma care represents the character of American health care. There are many examples exposing the profiteering of insurers, drug companies, hospitals and health-care providers. Patients fall victim to exorbitant insurance premium costs, co-pays and personal bankruptcy. There are better models to provide health services.