The next logical step is to require written estimates in advance, just like the auto repair industry.
That only works for non-urgent care and when estimates are cheap enough to encourage shopping around. Although even free estimates cost you time.
Hospital prices are about to go public in the U.S.
31–40 of 390 posts
Re: Hospital prices are about to go public in the U.S.
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is one of those nice ideas that has some pretty serious hidden costs. You’d struggle to compare healthcare in the US to other countries, because the quality of healthcare available (talking about availability, not accessibility) in the US is generally superior to other countries. So you could end up simply eroding the quality of care in the US. Another thing people tend not to talk about when discussing healthca…
Medical research in the US comes out to something like $500/year per capita. It’s doesn't come anywhere close to accounting for the cost differences between the US and other first-world countries.
I didn’t say research alone did. I said that when you compare investment in research, as well as the quality of care, you’d expect the cost of healthcare in the US to be higher. As much higher as they are? I don’t think so. But if you want to fix the accessibility issues without impacting innovation and quality of care, then you’re going to need a solution slightly more thought out than hamfisted price fixing.
Re: Hospital prices are about to go public in the U.S.
#33Presumably, this is based on ICD10 codes... but there can be 30 different services tied to a code. You still won't know what code is being charged until after the service is rendered, and if it's rack rate you won't know the actual rate your insurance will be charged, until THEY tell you... because that is proprietary information (just like the reason why your treatment was denied coverage). Imagine you have diabetes…
Are people really billed based on diagnostic codes? If true, it’s not what ICD-10 was designed for.
Patient A can recover from the same procedure for the same diagnosis much quicker and with fewer interventions than Patient B. Would insureco get billed the same for both?
Re: Hospital prices are about to go public in the U.S.
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you look at healthcare vs GDP, the US is way above the line compared to comparable countries. https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/chart-collection/health-... I think scaling the average costs from other countries accounting for GDP would be a good way to set the rates.
This is one of those nice ideas that has some pretty serious hidden costs. You’d struggle to compare healthcare in the US to other countries, because the quality of healthcare available (talking about availability, not accessibility) in the US is generally superior to other countries. So you could end up simply eroding the quality of care in the US. Another thing people tend not to talk about when discussing healthca…
I disagree about quality/availability. In Japan, Taiwan, Mainland China, Thailand; I’ve had amazing health care for the fraction of the price. Shit, a full cancer check only cost me 90 dollars in Japan. Getting my eyes fully checked for retinal tears cost me nothing due to national insurance in China.
In some cases, maybe the US has better care. But the cost of that is just way too damn high.
Yes, medical research in the US is superior, but that shouldn’t be at the cost of peoples’ lives.
Re: Hospital prices are about to go public in the U.S.
#35This is almost completely meaningless unless it's paired with some serious help in figuring out the total cost of a visit. Every service that offers this sort of price transparency I've seen so far lists the prices for single insurance billing codes at a time. A lay person isn't going to understand the total cost of the visit from that, because there's no way to figure out which billing codes are going to be make up…
that problem sounds like a market opportunity
it's that or deadweight loss
Re: Hospital prices are about to go public in the U.S.
#36Re: Hospital prices are about to go public in the U.S.
#37One way we could wheedle useful information out of this is how the published prices relate to other providers, especially if there are huge discrepancies. Telling me an average MRI has an average list price of $1000 at provider A tells me nothing. But if provider B says theirs is $10,000? That could be pointing to something important.
The ability to “shop around” for cheaper care sounds fantastic. But could that system actually work for healthcare? Is there anything intrinsic to healthcare that limits the ability of a free market in that arena (morally, economically, etc.)?
Re: Hospital prices are about to go public in the U.S.
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is one of those nice ideas that has some pretty serious hidden costs. You’d struggle to compare healthcare in the US to other countries, because the quality of healthcare available (talking about availability, not accessibility) in the US is generally superior to other countries. So you could end up simply eroding the quality of care in the US. Another thing people tend not to talk about when discussing healthca…
I disagree about quality/availability. In Japan, Taiwan, Mainland China, Thailand; I’ve had amazing health care for the fraction of the price. Shit, a full cancer check only cost me 90 dollars in Japan. Getting my eyes fully checked for retinal tears cost me nothing due to national insurance in China. In some cases, maybe the US has better care. But the cost of that is just way too damn high. Yes, medical research in…
In the developed world, the price of routine checkups are not what people would generally be referring to when discussing _quality_ of healthcare. Generally speaking, the US has the best facilities, technology, expertise and pharmaceuticals available. Which is why people come from all over the world for procedures that simply aren’t available elsewhere. Again, I’m not talking about the problems with accessibility, merely talking about available treatments.
Reducing investment in medical research will absolutely come at the cost of people’s lives. More people’s infact, as anybody will die from a terminal illness that doesn’t have a treatment. As an example the US market constitutes something life 70% of _global_ pharmaceutical profits.
Re: Hospital prices are about to go public in the U.S.
#39Presumably, this is based on ICD10 codes... but there can be 30 different services tied to a code. You still won't know what code is being charged until after the service is rendered, and if it's rack rate you won't know the actual rate your insurance will be charged, until THEY tell you... because that is proprietary information (just like the reason why your treatment was denied coverage). Imagine you have diabetes…
Are people really billed based on diagnostic codes? If true, it’s not what ICD-10 was designed for. Patient A can recover from the same procedure for the same diagnosis much quicker and with fewer interventions than Patient B. Would insureco get billed the same for both?
They aren't. Prices are based on the HCPCS codes (CPT for clinical charges). For example, a 99213 is a return office visit.
Re: Hospital prices are about to go public in the U.S.
#40How about transparency of medical records - i.e. if I provide some credentials, can I definitively get a copy of my medical history so that I can easily take it with me to another country/hospital?
By definitively I mean within some federal regulation or system that doesn't depend on an employee at a particular hospital getting around to it on their coffee break.