AN ARTICLE published in the Los Angeles Times this week sheds some light on why healthcare costs in the United States are so high.

Called “Healthcare’s High Cost: Many hospitals, doctors offer cash discount,” the article has delved into an area where hard evidence has been elusive, the health insurance industry. The surprising conclusion is that for most people in this country, especially young people, they would be better off – much better off, financially – if they just paid cash for their healthcare services.

Health insurance is, of course, a big business here on Guam. And it can sometimes be contentious, as we’re learning once again in the back and forth with Guam Memorial Hospital over a decision it made some months ago to terminate its contract with TakeCare, one of the island’s largest health insurance businesses. That decision was eventually withdrawn, and GMH resumed accepting TakeCare cards many weeks ago.

Our purpose here is not to rehash that issue, which, as the hospital’s administration says, was resolved amicably. We just think the overall question of health care, health insurance, and what it all costs is an immensely important subject affecting every family.

The Times article points out that the average family of four in the U.S. spends $20,728 on health care every year, including insurance premiums, co-payments and other items. That same amount of money would buy a new, mid-priced car or a year’s college tuition. Were it not for the high cost of health care, the average American could purchase vastly more of non-healthcare goods and services. The amount of money we pour into health care affects the economy in many other ways, costing jobs and skewing the economic picture badly.

The Times says Americans purchase insurance with the expectation of getting reduced out-of-pocket costs, but instead end up paying far more than they should. They cite an example of the Los Alamitos Medical Center, in Southern California, listing a CT scan of the abdomen on a state website at $4,423. One of the largest health insurance companies says its negotiated rate for the same scan at the same institution is about $2,400.

The Times says when it called for the cash price, the hospital said it was $250.

The article concludes that healthcare costs in our country, controlled by the health insurance industry, are arbitrary and capricious, and exorbitant. America does not have the world’s best healthcare system. There are many other countries with better systems for less cost. But we do have the finest health care money can buy. For those to whom money is no object, the United States is a terrific place to get treatment. Unfortunately, money is important to most state and territory governments, and to most people. And U.S. health care is insanely expensive for reasons having little to do with the cost of equipment or delivery of those services.