Letters: Sick? Don’t be

Re “After a healthcare ordeal, man gets a bill from the blue,” Column, June 25

David Lazarus gives us another example of the wildly unpredictable billing in our healthcare system.

Why a minor injury (no blood or broken bones) should incur a bill totaling about $40,000 (with some of it coming unexpectedly 21 months later) is beyond comprehension. This is largely because of the insurance industry inserting itself between doctors and patients and skimming some benefits from both sides.

That people don’t rebel against this ridiculous setup and install a single-payer system reminds me of H.L. Mencken’s cynical observation, “Nobody ever went bankrupt underestimating the intelligence of the American people.”

Shelley Martin

San Pedro

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