> Healthcare providers tend to overcharge in proportion to how unnegotiable the service is. For example, ambulance charges are a great way to make money, because the person on the hook for the ambulance typically isn't in a position to decline ambulance service.
That is because ambulance are charged on use basis in the US. The ambulance company has to provide the service even in the patient cannot pay for it. So they charge high rates with the hopes that they can recover from someone with good insurance. There are many rural ambulance systems that are failing due to insufficient insured patients. The real solution is cities/counties fund the service through taxes just like police/fire.
That is because ambulance are charged on use basis in the US. The ambulance company has to provide the service even in the patient cannot pay for it. So they charge high rates with the hopes that they can recover from someone with good insurance. There are many rural ambulance systems that are failing due to insufficient insured patients. The real solution is cities/counties fund the service through taxes just like police/fire.