How I Would Address Healthcare Costs

I think anyone who has paid health insurance premiums, or suffered through a medical event, knows that the healthcare system is broken. The Affordable Healthcare Act has tried to make some headway, but we have all seen healthcare premiums continue to rise. Insurance companies are definitely part of the problem, but the other part in my opinion is the disconnect between doctors, hospitals and the rest of a capitalistic society.
There is no capitalism, or price checks and balances in healthcare. And, you're thinking with all of the money being made by doctors and and the healthcare industry that you can't get more capitalistic than that. Money does not equate a capitalist environment. When was the last time you went to the doctor, and knew what your costs were going to be before you went in? Maybe you go to an orthopedic surgeon for a procedure, and he tells you what he charges. But, does he tell you what the anesthesiologist is going to charge? Does he tell you what the X-Ray company is going to charge? Does he tell you what the hospital charge is going to be? Of course not, because they don't know. But, they should know. When I agree to a procedure I am making a contract with the doctor I am dealing with. The price he quotes me should be all inclusive. That's the way everything else works. If my car breaks down my quote is for the complete price, and I can compare it with other businesses. I don't get a bill for the technician who made the repair, and then go home to find another bill for the part, and another for the transportation of the part, and another for use of the repair shop. It's ridiculous. What other business sector does business like the medical community?
If I am trying to reduce healthcare costs the first thing I am going to do is require medical offices of all kinds to publish and post in waiting rooms the procedures they offer and the costs involved, ALL inclusive. Of course they play the "you can't put a price on your health" card, which is a load of you know what. Doctor's should have a documented track record. This is most important for specialists. If I need a hip replacement I should know how many my doctor has done, and his success rate. That may be available to some extent today, but how do we know those numbers are real? How do we insure we have audited numbers? All major corporations are required to supply audited income statements to potential investors. Isn't healthcare more important? Too many physicians have alliances with certain radiologists, hospitals, anesthesiologists  and others. It is not based on price. It is based on who knows who. By making the physicians compete, healthcare costs will be reduced. It's crazy when a guy just out of medical school charges the same price as someone who has 20 years of experience. And, really it should not be based upon experience, but by track record. Let me be clear. The doctors don't all make the same amount of money. But, the large organizations they work for do. They charge the same, pay some physicians less and keep the difference. It's crazy when I go to the doctor and he's not available, but the physician's assistant is. I get treated by the assistant, never see the doctor, but pay full price for the visit.  Insurance companies have to be addressed, but until we fix the non-competitive nature of healthcare it's not going to get better. I remember back in college (circa 1979) when a professor in a business class stated that one of the best groups who keeps control of supply and demand is the American Medical Association (AMA). They limit the number of medical school graduates to perpetuate the the prices in medicine.
I reflect back on going to a large medical center in David, Panama. This building had all kinds of specialists, and most were trained in the US. I walk in with my wife without an appointment about 4 days before Christmas. We sign up, wait about 20 minutes, she talks with the Doctor who recommends a blood test, we pay $30 and leave. We go back to the center on Christmas Eve without an appointment, and go to the lab for the blood test. They tell us to come back after 4 for the results, and to my amazement they had them! We paid $40 for the test, and return two days later to see her doctor again. We meet with him for 20 minutes to discuss the blood results, and that's it. No more to pay, and everything done.
If it can be so simple there, then why can't it be so here?