Why medical costs are so high

I got to talking this week with one of the cyberknife nurses about the unusual shirt I had to wear for the radiation treatments.

It was made from a rough, clingy material with no sleeves but lots of elasticity and some wire connections that lit up when plugged in. It looked something like a football referee's jersey.

Its main task was to measure my breathing rhythm, which helped to direct the robot delivering the radiation. That's needed because every time I breathe, the tumor moves.

The nurse was complaining that the shirts have to be thrown out each time a patient is through with it - the wiring precludes washing and dry cleaning doesn't get it clean enough.

That brought me up short. How much do they cost, I asked. What it costs to make or what we have to pay for it? she shot back. Answer: the hospital pays about $500 apiece.

Which may or may not be part of the reason that health care now accounts for a fifth of our economy and why it may cost us nearly as much as we paid for our first house to have had this procedure done.

For those who missed it, the link to get to my radio interview with Alan Chartock that aired today is:
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wamc/news.newsmain/article/3566/0/1576435/WAMC.Speakers.Corner/Alan.Chartock...In.Conversation.with.Jay.Gallagher