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Insured price $2,758, cash price $521

latimes.com

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Re: Insured price $2,758, cash price $521

#41

Post by avocado4 »

johnwheeler wrote: post #25

I took my 4 year old to the ER because he had a 103 fever. The doctor put an ear thermometer to him and told me to give him some childrens ibuprofen. The visit lasted all of 5 minutes. The cost: $756.00. I refused to pay it. It was the first time I did not pay a debt and the first time I was sent to collections. I refused based on principle, and not because I couldn’t afford it. Collections called me for about 3 mont…

https://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2017/10/25/doctors-sal...

Providers are the core problem. Various doctor associations (AMA et al) have strangled supply side of healthcare through State licensure and scope of practice laws.

Just read medical forums to get an idea of what an average doctor thinks about competition in the form of midlevels:

https://www.auntminnie.com/Forum/tm.aspx?m=581583

"Don’t teach your mid levels procedures... Ultimately, a mid level that can do procedures, even easy ones, are your competitors."

https://www.auntminnie.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=581130

It's not politically talked about because it's much easier to blame corporations than your neighborhood doctors. There's enough leeches downstream too (insurance, pharma, PBMs, administrators, etc) but gatekeeping at the supply side is what's making it possible.

Re: Insured price $2,758, cash price $521

#42

Post by en4bz »

minikites wrote: post #27
en4bz wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except you often have to wait weeks for non-life threatening issues. In the US you can get imaging done same or next day.

>Except you often have to wait weeks for non-life threatening issues. So it's preferable to have a system where people go bankrupt for routine care? https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/AJPH.2018.3049...

You're presenting a false dichotomy. If people are being gouged then you can pass laws to limit that. You don't need single payer to solve these issues. Everyone knows the pricing system is BS. If that's the case then we should pass laws to change this.

Re: Insured price $2,758, cash price $521

#43

Post by ssx »

johnwheeler wrote: post #25

I took my 4 year old to the ER because he had a 103 fever. The doctor put an ear thermometer to him and told me to give him some childrens ibuprofen. The visit lasted all of 5 minutes. The cost: $756.00. I refused to pay it. It was the first time I did not pay a debt and the first time I was sent to collections. I refused based on principle, and not because I couldn’t afford it. Collections called me for about 3 mont…

If you had insurance it wouldn’t have been so high.

If you don’t have insurance, you literally are the problem.

Re: Insured price $2,758, cash price $521

#44

Post by johnwheeler »

point78 wrote: post #35
johnwheeler wrote: post #25

I took my 4 year old to the ER because he had a 103 fever. The doctor put an ear thermometer to him and told me to give him some childrens ibuprofen. The visit lasted all of 5 minutes. The cost: $756.00. I refused to pay it. It was the first time I did not pay a debt and the first time I was sent to collections. I refused based on principle, and not because I couldn’t afford it. Collections called me for about 3 mont…

Well as screwed up as the system is one little part of why prices are so high is to cover when people don't pay.

Well then it sounds like a vicious circle. Should we fix it by paying exorbitant fees or charging reasonable prices?

Re: Insured price $2,758, cash price $521

#45

Post by kazinator »

The cash price being lower is lucky. Sometimes uninsured cash prices are jacked up due to collusion with the insurance racket.

We see a hint of that here: "Cigna gets a contractual discount of just over $1,000 because it’s, well, Cigna." In this particular case, the negotiated discounts didn't bring the price below the cash one, but in many cases it will.

Re: Insured price $2,758, cash price $521

#47

Post by rolltiide »

It's random from a user experience perspective.

There are many times when a practice will quote you a much higher cash price just because you don't have an insurance company negotiating for you.

I have privileged foreign friends with private "worldwide insurance" from a European provider, but it is just a reimbursement scheme. So they appear uninsured to American providers and have to float potentially extremely large costs which might not actually get reimbursed.

And then things like birth control aren't insured by their "worldwide insurance" nor some dental work deemed cosmetic, and these people aren't surprised their great "worldwide insurance" doesn't cover those things because their state run insurance wouldn't cover those things either, but confused why the cost is so high in America.

I have to tell them that "privileged" people in America don't pay those costs, and explain to them how dangerous or ill-advised acting uninsured in America is.

Re: Insured price $2,758, cash price $521

#48

Post by johnwheeler »

ssx wrote: post #43
johnwheeler wrote: post #25

I took my 4 year old to the ER because he had a 103 fever. The doctor put an ear thermometer to him and told me to give him some childrens ibuprofen. The visit lasted all of 5 minutes. The cost: $756.00. I refused to pay it. It was the first time I did not pay a debt and the first time I was sent to collections. I refused based on principle, and not because I couldn’t afford it. Collections called me for about 3 mont…

If you had insurance it wouldn’t have been so high. If you don’t have insurance, you literally are the problem.

I do have insurance. That was my deductible.

Re: Insured price $2,758, cash price $521

#49

Post by Shivetya »

johnwheeler wrote: post #25

I took my 4 year old to the ER because he had a 103 fever. The doctor put an ear thermometer to him and told me to give him some childrens ibuprofen. The visit lasted all of 5 minutes. The cost: $756.00. I refused to pay it. It was the first time I did not pay a debt and the first time I was sent to collections. I refused based on principle, and not because I couldn’t afford it. Collections called me for about 3 mont…

if you are upset over their pay imagine how you must feel about those in public service, let alone their pensions. you can pull down those numbers being a city manager and get over 100k in pension to boot!

the medical profession is not easy and i don't begrudge them their fees.

Re: Insured price $2,758, cash price $521

#50

Post by velcrovan »

ssx wrote: post #43
johnwheeler wrote: post #25

I took my 4 year old to the ER because he had a 103 fever. The doctor put an ear thermometer to him and told me to give him some childrens ibuprofen. The visit lasted all of 5 minutes. The cost: $756.00. I refused to pay it. It was the first time I did not pay a debt and the first time I was sent to collections. I refused based on principle, and not because I couldn’t afford it. Collections called me for about 3 mont…

If you had insurance it wouldn’t have been so high. If you don’t have insurance, you literally are the problem.

> If you had insurance it wouldn’t have been so high.

Not true, most people's deductibles are more than what they charged him.

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