The last sentence of this article really sums it up: “It’s a broken system”  The article is about medical billing in the United States and how the bills have little to do with the cost of providing the service.  A clear example of how bureaucratization and a greed based system has lead to ridiculous outcomes that hit the poorest in our society hardest (note where it talks about the uninsured being charged the highest prices).

I have big questions about how the level of medical expenses can be justified, even in New Zealand where I gather things are much cheaper than the USA.  I think the answer quite simply is that the expenses are what they are because they can charge what they like.  The customer/patient is generally in a vulnerable position and is unable to shop around effectively so market forces do not regulate this effectively, and there are a whole lot of people who want to ‘clip the ticket’ on the way through which inflates the prices to a ridiculous extent.

Anyway, heres the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/23/your-money/health-insurance/navigating-the-labyrinth-of-medical-costs-your-money.html?_r=1&hp