(NewsNation) — Health care costs are rising faster than overall inflation, and in the process, they’re putting a financial strain on many Americans.
Even among the insured, four in 10 carry medical debt, pointing to cost — not access — as the core problem.
Doctors see the impact firsthand, and Dr. Jaime Seeman, who is confronting the issue as it takes a toll on her practice, joined “CUOMO” on Friday night to discuss.
“There’s no transparency to patients,” Seeman told NewsNation.
“A lot of doctors don’t even understand our extremely complex billing and coding system. It’s just gotten completely out of control,” she added.
Seeman believes that while competition is good, the whole health care system is a monopoly and that pharmaceutical and insurance companies are profiting to the tune of billions.
“A lot of people say the doctors are raking people over the coals. I can promise you, it is not the nurses and the doctors, and the people that are actually providing the care that are benefiting in any way,” she said.
Seeman explained that hospitals have a “master list” of what they will charge for services and insurance companies will pay a price negotiated with the hospital system, leading to less transparency for patients.
“A lot of doctors don’t even understand our extremely complex billing and coding system. It’s just gotten completely out of control…
“We want to help people, but we’re working in a system that just is sickening to look at the amount of profit that’s being made off the backs of physicians, health care providers, and ultimately, the patients.”