According to one of a series of exhaustive studies done by the McKinsey & Co. consulting firm, we spend more on health care than the next 10 biggest spenders combined: Japan, Germany, France, China, the U.K., Italy, Canada, Brazil, Spain and Australia. We may be shocked at the $60 billion price tag for cleaning up after Hurricane Sandy. We spent almost that much last week on health care. We spend more every year on artificial knees and hips than what Hollywood collects at the box office. We spend two or three times that much on durable medical devices like canes and wheelchairs, in part because a heavily lobbied Congress forces Medicare to pay 25% to 75% more for this equipment than it would cost at Walmart.
Last week I tried to use grant money to order a textbook off Amazon. I got an email from purchasing telling me we are no longer allowed to use Amazon to purchase items. So I had to spend $60 instead of $40 to get this goddam book from an 'approved' vendor (who hasn't shipped it yet even though its been 10 days, and they'll probably charge $20 for shipping, too). Now $20 is small potatoes, but when it comes to, say, buying a new freezer, they will rip you a new asshole. The same freezer you can buy at Best Buy for $500 will cost you $1200 from Fisher Scientific. Why? Because the government is paying, ultimately. They write the rules so we have to overspend. Health care lobbyists are the devil incarnate, and the lawmakers are their henchmen. I love the example in this piece about the $200 surgical gown that you could buy on your own and bring to the OR for about $6. So typical. People complain about government waste, but they don't complain about the laws that ensure the government is wasteful, brought to you by big business.