"treat you like a cash cow and to do as many tests or procedures as possible, even unnecessary ones, knowing that your insurance company or the government will foot the bill no questions asked."
One slight addition. They might be medically unnecessary, but have become legally necessary in some cases. Either because medical protocol has adapted to try to charge more, or because if you don't you might get sued because "Every other doctor would have run that test", etc.
But it is still very much about the money. When I got my wisdom teeth extracted, I had to go in for a 10 minute consult with xray on one day, then go in on a second day (even though it could be done on a single day). Why? Because insurance will not pay for a consultation if it happens on the same day as the extraction.
As for the government footing the bill in the US. Some procedures are deprioritized by hosptials of the patient is on Medicaid. The Medicaid reimbursement rate is generally lower than that of other insurance, so they prioritize the people/insurance that pay more.
One slight addition. They might be medically unnecessary, but have become legally necessary in some cases. Either because medical protocol has adapted to try to charge more, or because if you don't you might get sued because "Every other doctor would have run that test", etc.
But it is still very much about the money. When I got my wisdom teeth extracted, I had to go in for a 10 minute consult with xray on one day, then go in on a second day (even though it could be done on a single day). Why? Because insurance will not pay for a consultation if it happens on the same day as the extraction.
As for the government footing the bill in the US. Some procedures are deprioritized by hosptials of the patient is on Medicaid. The Medicaid reimbursement rate is generally lower than that of other insurance, so they prioritize the people/insurance that pay more.