The NYT reports how medical scans are often inaccurate. It also reports that doctors often profit from referring patients to get scans at facilities where they have an ownership stake.
The problems with scans can be substantially reduced if scans were billed at their marginal cost. The marginal cost of a scan would likely be $100 or less in most cases. It would include the cost of the electricity, the time for the medical personnel to run the scan and the time for a technician/doctor to review the scan.
This situation would require that the cost of developing scanning technology be covered through some other mechanism. It is almost certainly the case that there are more efficient funding mechanisms than the current one of relying on government created patent monopolies.
Unlike many news organizations, the Prospect has remained staunchly committed to keeping our journalism free and accessible to all. We believe that independent journalism is crucial for a functioning democracy—but quality reporting comes at a cost. From Trump’s threat to the free press to Musk’s influence on our democracy, there is too much at stake in 2025 to stop now.
We’re behind on our goal to raise $75,000 to continue delivering the hard-hitting investigative journalism you’ve come to expect from us. Your support helps us maintain our independence and dig deeper into the stories that matter most.
We need you to make a year-end contribution today. Any amount helps secure our future and ensure we can continue holding power to account.
