This is why I like Kaiser so much. If you make it to a Kaiser emergency room, and you have Kaiser health insurance, you are not going to get an out-of-network surprise bill. Everyone at Kaiser works for Kaiser and is paid a salary by Kaiser and the Kaiser hospital is the only one that bills you.
Medical equipment pricing is completely broken when a sling costs $200
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Re: Medical equipment pricing is completely broken when a sling costs $200
#22I 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…
What did you pay? What did the insurance company actually end up paying?
This is one of the areas that open pricing should help.
Re: Medical equipment pricing is completely broken when a sling costs $200
#23You know, I've recently seen here on HN complaints about "product substitution" at Amazon - getting, not what you ordered, but something that Amazon thinks is equivalent. I'm not sure medical supplies is where you want that to happen. I'm therefore not sure that the comparison of price to Amazon is fair.
Note well: Yes, hospitals also gouge you. I am not claiming otherwise.
Re: Medical equipment pricing is completely broken when a sling costs $200
#24So I work in manufacturing. On one of our systems, we recently upgraded the fleet to a $10k computer with a 22nm processor running RHEL 7 supplied by the system vendor. We had all of the install files and could have bought a $2k computer and gone through an extended install and qualification process, and closing the door to some support from our vendor, but we didn’t. We paid the extra $8k for a guarantee that it would just work and that we could get the exact same computer for years to come.
I see these high prices for what appear to be commodity items in a similar light. You are paying for a certain amount of comfort that the sling will just work. Amazon is not going to care if the sling, which might be a cheap knock-off, rips apart while you’re walking and unseats your unhealed bone.
Re: Medical equipment pricing is completely broken when a sling costs $200
#25i 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…
Out of interest, can I ask how much the "lactation consultation" cost?
Here in the UK, my wife's breast feeding help consisted of an inexperienced midwife (possibly only a trainee), awkwardly being remarkably unhelpful.
Re: Medical equipment pricing is completely broken when a sling costs $200
#26Reposting 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…
I have seen this with people who had cancer. Even with insurance they slowly got sucked dry. They spend hours and hours on the phone with insurance and doctors and if you don’t have a lawyer on retainer or really good nerves all the billing mistakes slowly bankrupt you. It’s a horrible system where the patient is just a football to be kicked around between hospitals, doctors and insurance.
Re: Medical equipment pricing is completely broken when a sling costs $200
#27So I work in manufacturing. On one of our systems, we recently upgraded the fleet to a $10k computer with a 22nm processor running RHEL 7 supplied by the system vendor. We had all of the install files and could have bought a $2k computer and gone through an extended install and qualification process, and closing the door to some support from our vendor, but we didn’t. We paid the extra $8k for a guarantee that it wou…
Here's where that analogy falls apart: If your 10K computer fails, your vendor will fix it under the support contract for free. If the hospital-provided sling falls apart and you go back to the hospital, they'll charge you again. In most cases, the product is the same one you can get yourself elsewhere, and it still doesn't come with a guarantee.
Re: Medical equipment pricing is completely broken when a sling costs $200
#28So I work in manufacturing. On one of our systems, we recently upgraded the fleet to a $10k computer with a 22nm processor running RHEL 7 supplied by the system vendor. We had all of the install files and could have bought a $2k computer and gone through an extended install and qualification process, and closing the door to some support from our vendor, but we didn’t. We paid the extra $8k for a guarantee that it wou…
I think you missed the point that we need an open pricing system. Sure you are willing to pay $200 for that sling but others might decide differently if they see the price beforehand!
Re: Medical equipment pricing is completely broken when a sling costs $200
#29This is why I like Kaiser so much. If you make it to a Kaiser emergency room, and you have Kaiser health insurance, you are not going to get an out-of-network surprise bill. Everyone at Kaiser works for Kaiser and is paid a salary by Kaiser and the Kaiser hospital is the only one that bills you.
... what if you don't make it to a Kaiser emergency room?
The Kaiser system would be great if every major hospital nationwide was under it. Kind of like a national healthcare system...
Re: Medical equipment pricing is completely broken when a sling costs $200
#30I 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 need very strong nerves. Their collectors can be very aggressive.