The United States spent $4.3 trillion on health care in 2021, or an average of $12,900 per person, and there is no end in sight. These costs are double what other wealthy countries pay.
Much of the blame lies at the feet of the powerful health insurance and pharmaceutical industries who spend millions each year buying politicians.
But we often don’t hear about large medical institutions that also do what they have to do to protect their domain.
Just recently the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota held Gov. Tim Walz and state lawmakers hostage by threatening to cancel $4 billion in new hospital investments unless they substantially watered down a proposal to help rein in costs. The state caved and Mayo got what it wanted.
The measure would have established a health care affordability board with power to fine hospitals, doctors, and insurers across the state for milking the system.
The clinic posted a $1.2 billion profit in 2021.
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