Of all the insults to their collective intelligence and dignity Americans put up with, perhaps none is more infuriating than the quintessential Q&A that makes an utter mockery of the healthcare industry’s consumer-provider relationship.
Question: How much does this procedure cost?
Answer: What insurance do you have?
Applying the same “standard” to any other consumer-provider transaction reveals its bankruptcy. How much is that loaf of bread? What will it cost me to fix my car? To apply progressive-speak to the equation, what the healthcare industry wholly embraces is price “fluidity” more familiarly known as “why should you care, your insurance company is footing most of the bill?”
How about because the United States spends more per capita on healthcare than any other nation in the world by a considerable margin?
Think price transparency would help? The Trump administration does. On Nov. 15, 2019, it announced that it would begin requiring hospitals to publicly disclose the discounted prices they negotiate with insurance companies. The rule would kick in beginning in 2021, as part of an administration effort to make the entire healthcare market more transparent. In addition, the administration is also proposing a rule that would require insurers to provide patients with advanced estimates of their out-of-pocket costs before they see a doctor or go to the hospital.
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ReplyDeleteNeeded an MRI. I ask, "how much if I just pay cash?".
$455.
How much do you bill my insurance if I go that way?
$1450.
WTF???
ReplyDeleteBut you have to crank in a factor for the insurance, 3:36. They bill $1450, knowing they won't get nearly that much. They also know they will have to bill it 2 or 3 times and fight with the insurance company to get it paid, which costs them money, so $455 in hand is a pretty good deal for them.
But there are scams, and this action to require prices is a good thing.
PRMC charges $300.00 for a bandaid
Deletethey also charge for things not done for you....
hoping you dont look over the bill submitted to your insurance
Seen that billing done to two others and my self.
Delete6! years old, retired on disability, my "covered" colonoscopy through Medicare wound up costing me just shy of $2,000 out of pocket. Didn't include deductible and over $200/month in premiums. Wonder how many snowflakes would be screaming about that with their "free medical care" or "Medicare for all".
ReplyDeleteYes 4:01, but when you have a deductible of 10,000 and have to pay up to that amount out of pocket, your bill After they bill the insurance will probably only be "discounted" a small amount. You wind up paying over $1,000 anyhow.
ReplyDeleteMy primary care doctor's office said that they no longer took my insurance so I paid out of pocket $ 65.00. It turned out to be an error, the next time I went they charged my insurance $ 95.00 and my plan "discounted" me to pay $75.00. It is a total racket!
But of course I had to get the insurance or I would have gotten fined!
I meditate, eat and drink ONLY ORGANIC. I have never been to a dr. Stop eating bad food. Simple and thank you.
DeleteAs Pelosi said, "You have to get the operation first before you get to know how much it costs."
ReplyDeleteIt's all a big scam. Illegals get free healthcare and us poor citizens pay through the nose or are insurance poor, or both.
ReplyDeleteRight on 7:43 !
ReplyDelete749. Good idea
ReplyDeleteAnonymous Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteI meditate, eat and drink ONLY ORGANIC. I have never been to a dr. Stop eating bad food. Simple and thank you.
December 10, 2019 at 7:49 PM
What a load of...crap.