There's a combined element of people having insurance, so they don't look for ways or care about ways to reduce costs with the belief that the insurance will pay for it. And - the health care providers come from the same perspective - insurance will pay for it, so there is no need to try to control/limit expenses.

Here's the experience I had as an illustration.

My daughter had foot surgery. As part of the surgery at the surgical center, she received crutches. They were the very nice ones with the big curve at the top that you see the injured athletes on the sidelines using sometimes.

6 months later, I had foot surgery for a different issue. At the surgical center I tell them that I don't need crutches - I can just use the ones my daughter got earlier. The nurse tells me "it doesn't matter - it won't cost you anything. The insurance pays for it." I told her it didn't matter. No need to waste an extra pair of crutches - we had some at home.

So - are other/all health care providers telling people to go ahead and let insurance companies pay for things like these crutches?

As a side note - I noticed that I actually DID pay a co-pay portion for the crutches my daughter received. So If I'd gone with the nurse's advice and gotten a new pair - letting the insurance pay for it - it would've added another $100 or so to my bill too.