Ever heard of "you get what you pay for"?

Sure! Everyone has. But we also expect the reverse is true (at least normally)... the item/service which is more expensive is of better quality than that which is less expensive.

However, according to a just-released hospital study, there is "stark evidence that high medical payments do not necessarily buy high-quality patient care." (New York Times)

If this is true, then why are health care costs so much?

Because "the fact that there is no connection between quality and cost is one of the dirty secrets of medicine" according to the chief executive of the Pacific Business Group on Health, a California group of employers that provide health care coverage for workers.

Even though there are many reasons for the disparity, "the far greater disparity [between hospital payments and patient outcomes] involved commercial insurers, which must negotiate their rates hospital by hospital."

So, just because you are paying more, it does not mean you are getting the best quality healthcare.