The healthcare system has been taken over by private money equity and the insurance companies. Both Private Equity and insurance companies are buying the hospitals, the labs, the radiology, the physicians, dialysis and transfusion centers (and more I don’t list here).
Then they force the insured to buy medications only at their approved pharmacies, which they own. Yet they are able to approve and/or deny medical referrals, treatments, and medications, often without speaking to a medical professional because they are the insurance company. This allows them to set the prices for entire cities and regions.
Regarding so many in the US with medical debt, keep in mind the physicians have to play games with each insurance company or their owners by artificially inflating bills, only to mark them down at a discount for those with insurance.
A hospital stay may be $20,000, but insurance will cut it down according to their negotiated agreements. However, those without insurance are paying the inflated $20,000.
Private Equity companies and insurance companies should not own medical facilities or medical monopolies where they own every aspect or nearly every aspect of both vertical and horizontal industries keeping prices artificially high because it’s profitable.