Curb the Hospital Accountants and MBAs

Hospital charges are at the root of high health costs. A hospital "Price List" (Charge Master List) is typically 5-6 times their cost. That's what people with insufficient or no insurance are charged. Insurance companies negotiate discounts based on size and how many they insure and typically only pay about 35 - 40% of what the uninsured are charged. The"Charge Master List" typically increases 7.5% automatically every October, regardless of inflation. That means their prices double every 10 years. They also cheat. After a month in a well-known hospital my daughter was charged $268,000. The first time I called the Billing Dept. they told me they could give me a 50% discount(meaning they only made 200% profit). Instead I went into the bill line by line, found much evidence of false charging, and they eventually offered to settle for $17,000. (read this article here and learn real facts about healthcare
http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2010/jul/07/cover/)
A sister hospital was fined $6.2 million for defrauding Medicare! And look how HCA, largest healthcare company in the US, has been stealing taxpayer $$s. So let's get them to clean up their act, and hand out some jail time, instead of fines.