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When we need to go to the hospital, we usually don’t care what it costs to make us better. We just want to get better.
And when you think about it, you shouldn't have to worry about how much it costs when you’re sick or hurt.
But in America, where we’re likely to spend $2.8 trillion dollars on health care this year, the care we receive doesn’t cost the same for everyone.
If you come to the hospital as a Medicare patient, there’s one set of costs, with private insurance, a different set, and if you’re unlucky enough to show up with no insurance at all, the hospital bill might well be astronomically high.
But why? Why so much for a dose of aspirin, let alone an x-ray or MRI. It’s an important question...but one that you might not easily be able to find an answer to.
Today, we’re talking about the cost of healthcare, and joining us is Steven Brill, lecturer at Yale University, founder of the Yale Journalism Initiative, author of "Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us", a TIME special report.
Also joining us are Vicki Veltri, CT’s healthcare advocate, and Dan Haar, Business editor for the Hartford Courant. And we want to hear from you.
Join us on Facebookor tweet us @wherewelive.
