The Fictitious Facade: How Inflated Medical Bills Expose the Big Pharma-Medical Cartel Ripping Off Americans

In a viral post above that’s racked up hundreds of thousands of views, a board-certified plastic surgeon pulls back the curtain on one of the most infuriating aspects of American healthcare: those jaw-dropping medical bills that seem designed to induce heart attacks rather than treat them. The post, shared by @WallStreetApes, features the surgeon describing a recent procedure where the insurance company billed $170,000, yet his practice only received $2,000 in reimbursement. “Patients get this astronomical number that is really kind of a fictitious number that doesn’t get represented by real money that anyone collects,” he explains.

This isn’t an isolated anecdote—it’s a symptom of a deeply corrupt system where hospitals, insurance companies, and Big Pharma collude to inflate costs, bilk taxpayers, and leave everyday Americans footing the bill for phantom expenses. The core of this scam lies in something called the “chargemaster,” a secretive price list every hospital maintains, loaded with wildly inflated rates for everything from aspirin to surgeries. These aren’t real prices; they’re fictitious numbers, often marked up 1,000% or more above actual costs, serving as a starting point for negotiations with insurers.

“My funeral would have been cheaper,” she lamented. Hospitals defend these prices as necessary to offset losses from underpaying government programs like Medicare, but critics see it as legalized price gouging, warped by government policies that shield the industry from true market competition. In another shocking example, a Colorado woman named Lisa French was quoted $1,300 out-of-pocket for back surgery, only to receive a $300,000 bill due to an insurance mix-up. The hospital invoked its secret chargemaster rates, but after a lengthy court battle, a jury ruled she owed just $760—exposing how these numbers are arbitrary and unenforceable when challenged.

This fictitious billing isn’t just annoying; it’s a deliberate strategy that benefits the entire healthcare cartel. Hospitals inflate chargemasters to maximize reimbursements from insurers, who in turn use the “discounts” they negotiate to justify sky-high premiums. Patients receive Explanation of Benefits statements showing how the insurer “saved” them tens of thousands, reinforcing the illusion that coverage is a bargain. But as the surgeon in the X post points out, “Where does the rest of it all go?” Much of it vanishes into administrative bloat, executive salaries, and profits for middlemen—none of which improves patient care. Enter Big Pharma, the shadowy partner in this racket. Pharmaceutical giants aren’t just selling drugs; they’re embedded in the billing ecosystem, charging exorbitant prices that get folded into hospital chargemasters. A single cancer drug injection might list at $13,702 on the bill, while the hospital pays Big Pharma around $3,000—pocketing the difference after insurance pays a negotiated rate.

American surgeon exposing a new scam US Health Insurance companies are doing

American surgeon exposing a new scam US Health Insurance companies are doing

– This surgeon submits her bill to insurance for the patients surgery
– They say no, and only pay 1/3 of the bill
– Months later they decide they shouldn’t have even paid that much and submit what’s… pic.twitter.com/jodtSyoWgQ

— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) June 16, 2025

As Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has repeatedly charged, these industries have “captured” regulators, turning public health into a profit machine. “We are mass poisoning all of our children and our adults,” Kennedy said, pointing to processed foods laced with chemicals that drive chronic diseases, creating lifelong customers for Big Pharma’s pills. The ties between Big Pharma and the medical establishment run deep. Doctors often receive kickbacks or consulting fees from drug companies, incentivizing overprescription of expensive treatments.

This conflict of interest bilks the system: Taxpayers foot the bill through Medicare and Medicaid, where fraud runs rampant. One National Review exposé detailed how providers scam these programs, with settlements reaching $138 million for Medicaid fraud and $1.7 billion for hospital chain Columbia/HCA. Overall, improper payments in entitlement programs cost billions annually, subsidizing the very corruption that inflates costs.

Is American health insurance a scam? I’ve heard horrible things about United Healthcare.

Is American health insurance a scam?

I’ve heard horrible things about United Healthcare. pic.twitter.com/KXoaE5A1Ow

— Sarah Fields (@SarahisCensored) August 12, 2025

Government intervention has only worsened the problem. Obamacare, for instance, forced more people into this broken system, where hospitals charge “chargemaster” prices three to five times higher to the uninsured. Efforts like Trump’s executive order to align U.S. drug prices with those in Europe aimed to curb Big Pharma’s greed, but resistance from the industry—bolstered by captured bureaucrats—has stalled real reform. As Vivek Ramaswamy noted, insurers pay for “feeding tubes and doctors to be pill pushers,” but not for cures that cut into profits. The taxpayer burden is immense. Healthcare spending has ballooned to over 18% of GDP, driven by chronic conditions Big Pharma profits from treating, not preventing. Medicare alone sees fraud costing tens of billions yearly, with fake claims and upcoding inflating bills.

This cartel thrives on opacity—no one knows prices upfront, as the surgeon admitted: “Nobody knows what the bills are before we do them, including doctors. “Solutions? Conservatives advocate transparency rules, like Trump’s push for hospitals to publish chargemasters, though these lists still don’t reflect real prices. Breaking up hospital monopolies, allowing drug imports, and prosecuting fraud could dismantle the racket. But until then, Americans remain hostages to fictitious bills that enrich the elite while bankrupting families. This system isn’t healthcare—it’s highway robbery, with Big Pharma and hospitals as the bandits, insurance as the getaway driver, and taxpayers left holding the bag. As the X post asks, “How do the insurance companies getting away with it?” Simple: Through corruption, cronyism, and a government too entangled to stop it.

• The Left’s Abandonment Of Health Drove RFK Jr. From The Dems
• Trump’s quest to reduce drug prices is heating up. But will he be able to do it?
• Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us
• $1,300 Estimate, $300,000 Bill. Patient Sticker-Shocked by Hospital’s “Secret” Chargemaster Rates. Will She Pay?
• Price Transparency Rule Will Help Patients Make Better Choices
• The mystery behind vastly different hospital prices
• The Nasty Surprises That Plague Our Health-Care System
• Many US hospitals mark up prices 1,000 percent, study says
• Florida woman bitten by stray kitten billed by hospital for $48G
• The Myth of Bulk Buying in Health Care
• Wax: Making a Killing in American Health Care, a Step-by-Step Guide
• How To Opt Out Of Obamacare
• Entitlement Bandits
• Federal Fumbles

John Santana and Lisa at Whatfinger News. Heavy use of National Review and Federalist links above