Ins. companies and dentists.
"Many people just see the amount of money they're paying (or more likely, their insurance company is paying) and think their doctor has to be rich."
If people had to pay out of their own pocket at this time, there would be dentists going out of business and people walking around with toothaches.
If there were no ins co.s then maybe the money saved on premiums would allow people to pay out of pocket.
The "specialist" that pulled my wisdom teeth told me I needed $1600 worth of fillings. "You do have ins. don't you?"
"NO"
My old family dentist did all of the work for two payments of $300.