The Incredible Complexity of Healthcare Costs

Douglas Perednia

 

“Dealing with complexity is an inefficient and unnecessary waste of time, attention, and mental energy. There is never any justification for things being complex when they could be simple.”

—Edward de Bono

The healthcare system in the United States has become an absurdly complex machine. There is no inherent reason that it has to be, nor did anyone consciously design it to be that way. If American providers worked on a straight cash basis and with far less regulation (as do attorneys, accountants, and other professionals), there is no question that the American healthcare system would be relatively simple and far less expensive.

Let’s be clear: Excessive complexity in any important ...