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Medical equipment pricing is completely broken when a sling costs $200

latimes.com

11–20 of 370 posts

Re: Medical equipment pricing is completely broken when a sling costs $200

#11

Well, popcorn in a movie theater also costs 10x more than it should, because they have you as a captive audience. And it doesn't help that the price is basically opaque and paid for by insurance, for a person who doesn't care about the price at that moment. It's a ridiculous system.

I get the price of the popcorn up front, and I don’t die if I skip it.

Re: Medical equipment pricing is completely broken when a sling costs $200

#12

Well, popcorn in a movie theater also costs 10x more than it should, because they have you as a captive audience. And it doesn't help that the price is basically opaque and paid for by insurance, for a person who doesn't care about the price at that moment. It's a ridiculous system.

Movie theater does not give you the popcorn and tell you the price a week after. Also, you can say no to the popcorn in a movie theater; you cannot control the fine details of your treatment.

Re: Medical equipment pricing is completely broken when a sling costs $200

#13
Reposting s comment I saw on something similar:

>My wife has Stage IV breast cancer. She has been a public school teacher for 20 years and we have pretty good health insurance. She continues to work. She will teach as long as she can because she wants to...and financially she will need to.

>Even with good health coverage, we have STILL spent thousands of dollars the past couple years out of pocket. If/when she takes medical retirement, it will get much worse. It will cost her 75% of her retirement income just to purchase health insurance. The rest will go to copays, gas for hospital trips, etc. Oh by the way, we still pay thousands in federal taxes each year, while corporations and the rich avoid most taxes and pay very little. It's fucking criminal. Fuck everyone who developed this system and fights to maintain it.

From this thread on medical bankruptcy being a uniquely American phenomena: https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/d10ab6/medical_ba...

Re: Medical equipment pricing is completely broken when a sling costs $200

#14
post #3

i wonder if a hospital would still charge you if you refused thier price gouge materials and used your own purchased at a proper price, as in "thanks for setting the bone, i dont need your sling i have my own and it will do fine, here is my lawyers contact card."

We asked for an itemized price list when my wife gave birth. They claimed she received lactation consultation even though she rejected it, as this was our 2nd baby. Despite having documentation saying so it went back and forth and we just paid it because it was too time consuming.

Anyways. In the itemized bill they charge about $40 per ibuprofen. If we knew the price, we should have brought our own and just rejected theirs.

Someone might come along and reply with that $40 covers nurse salary, tracking the medicine etc. Yeah... Bull$hit.

Re: Medical equipment pricing is completely broken when a sling costs $200

#15
post #4

I just got an itemized bill today for a minor fall I took a couple months back.. On top of the nearly $6k in other charges from the hospital, they charged $531 for one dab of superglue or "liquid stitches" on my forehead for something that would have healed by itself. One of my friends died two years ago from pneumonia. He didn't go to the hospital when symptoms first started because he was afraid of the bills that w…

I had a deep split over my eye (metal ring tossed while I was still down range) and knew going to the ER for stitches would end up costing thousands for a five minute stitch job, so I pinched it together and put on superglue. Healed better than stitches and cost me nothing. I hate our medical system too.

Re: Medical equipment pricing is completely broken when a sling costs $200

#16
post #4

I just got an itemized bill today for a minor fall I took a couple months back.. On top of the nearly $6k in other charges from the hospital, they charged $531 for one dab of superglue or "liquid stitches" on my forehead for something that would have healed by itself. One of my friends died two years ago from pneumonia. He didn't go to the hospital when symptoms first started because he was afraid of the bills that w…

Pretty sure if you go through the effort to challenge such charges you can get them changed. https://www.vox.com/2019/3/22/18261698/how-to-fight-expensiv...

You would need to do this for every change, every time. Hardly a good solution.

Re: Medical equipment pricing is completely broken when a sling costs $200

#17
post #4

I just got an itemized bill today for a minor fall I took a couple months back.. On top of the nearly $6k in other charges from the hospital, they charged $531 for one dab of superglue or "liquid stitches" on my forehead for something that would have healed by itself. One of my friends died two years ago from pneumonia. He didn't go to the hospital when symptoms first started because he was afraid of the bills that w…

Pretty sure if you go through the effort to challenge such charges you can get them changed. https://www.vox.com/2019/3/22/18261698/how-to-fight-expensiv...

Opt-out vs Opt-in

Re: Medical equipment pricing is completely broken when a sling costs $200

#18
post #3

i wonder if a hospital would still charge you if you refused thier price gouge materials and used your own purchased at a proper price, as in "thanks for setting the bone, i dont need your sling i have my own and it will do fine, here is my lawyers contact card."

“OK, the cost of setting that bone just went up $900.” That’s probably what they would do. We know that they don’t base prices in any kind of rationally economic way.

hence the lawyers contact card.

Re: Medical equipment pricing is completely broken when a sling costs $200

#19
post #3

i wonder if a hospital would still charge you if you refused thier price gouge materials and used your own purchased at a proper price, as in "thanks for setting the bone, i dont need your sling i have my own and it will do fine, here is my lawyers contact card."

IIRC prior to being treated you agree to be financially liable for the costs. Prior to even knowing that that will be or even the costs involved. Or even if you know what is involved are you going to understand what a reasonable cost is? EG: Sling is easy but what about a x-ray study? Is that 200$ or $150? Just like a proper capitalist system! You know, like when you agreed to pay whatever for your iPhone prior to ev…

We don’t have a capitalist system, we have the worst of all possible systems. There’s no competition, yet the state doesn’t control the prices.

Re: Medical equipment pricing is completely broken when a sling costs $200

#20
post #12

Well, popcorn in a movie theater also costs 10x more than it should, because they have you as a captive audience. And it doesn't help that the price is basically opaque and paid for by insurance, for a person who doesn't care about the price at that moment. It's a ridiculous system.

Movie theater does not give you the popcorn and tell you the price a week after. Also, you can say no to the popcorn in a movie theater; you cannot control the fine details of your treatment.

A movie just isn't the same without popcorn :)

And you're a captive audience; they don't allow you to bring in your own supply.

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