Letter


Ridiculous prices for medical equipment
Rick Weston, Concord

There is an aspect of the health care flap that seems to be going unnoticed. I'm not sure what percentage of the health care dollar it represents, but I'll bet it's substantive.

I invite anyone to leaf through a medical supply catalog. The prices of even the simplest things will astound you. An IV pole, a pole on wheels with a hook at the top, costs over $300. A little round stool on wheels, likewise over $300. A stethoscope costs $175. These are simple little things, but the trend suffuses the medical universe. A CT scanner costs over $3.5 million, not because it has to, but because that's what the market will bear. These exorbitant costs are all passed on to the patient.

We, the people, the patients, are that market. The next time any of us are in circumstances that call for an IV pole we, or our representatives, should demand that our IVs be hung from a nail in the wall. The doc can sit on a milk crate whilst perusing our nether reaches, or go on down to WalMart and buy a stool for $15.

RICK WESTON

Concord