What's not at cost amount to in the lone star state? Aren't medical prices ridiculous in the states if you aren't (even if you are) covered?
Medical pricing is a long and laborious topic.
Something simple like a mask is no more expensive out of my medical office than it would be at a gas station. They're easy to buy and easy to sell. There is no significant overhead in charge capture. Hand me a dollar and I hand you a mask.
This is very different to submitting a claim to an insurance company. This is quite the process and with it eats up 40% of the charge right off the bat. I charge $100 and $40 of it goes away just trying to get paid The other 60.
The issue is that despite the reality that out-of-pocket cost could be much lower for most day-to-day items cash, it stops people from going to the doctor and adds up cost on the back end. think of it like not doing oil changes and then being surprised that a much more expensive item occurs.
Some of the population can definitely do the math and afford and have the health that this model is the very best one for both doctor and patient.
But intrinsically modern medicine is very expensive when you get actually sick No matter where you are.