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

latimes.com

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

#261

Post by foobarbecue »

cpursley wrote: post #83
danans wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> however I fail to understand why nobody really is up for changing this system,where millions upon millions left woth no choice but to struggle anything but basic medical care. Plenty of people are up for changing it. It is quite literally the center of a huge debate at the moment in the Democratic primary, and there is a broad spectrum of changes being proposed, from Medicare for all with price controls to a slight…

> And the Republican party is currently avoiding discussing Are you so sure about that? A republican president recently signed an executive order for more transparent pricing: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/06/24/7355785...

I couldn't believe when I first heard about this -- Trump doing something potentially beneficial. Sounds like it will have no actual impact, but I hope it does.

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

#262

Post by PorterDuff »

ericd wrote: post #2

We had a call with someone who works on the pricelist/chargemaster for a major metro hospital recently, they set their prices by taking the Medicare reimbursement rate, and multiplying by 8.

" they set their prices by taking the Medicare reimbursement rate, and multiplying by 8."

lol. Seriously? Well it's a simple system.

I wonder what happens when it's Medicare-for-all. Do they make 1/8 as much all of a sudden?

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

#263

Post by specialist »

com2kid wrote: post #246
maximente wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

most are still stuck in the loyalty type mentality buffered by things like patriotism and national anthems and flags for any event with >5 people and a TV camera. 50 years ago people had the same loyalty towards their companies, and look where that got US manufacturing workers. nowadays you'd be nuts to expect to stick with a company for 10 years. get yours and get out: others be damned. so it shall be with citizensh…

Last time I went to the ER I got an itemized bill in a week for $300 or so. All medical imaging I've had done has had pricing given up front showing what they where going to bill the insurance company and what the insurance company was going to pay and what I'd have to pay. My non-emergency visits have a $40 copay up front. Only the nightmare cases get talked about.

Which metrics do you measure, optimize for your web services? P90 & P99?

Why would health care be any different?

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

#264

Post by hollerith »

mattmcknight wrote: post #154
ericd wrote: post #2

We had a call with someone who works on the pricelist/chargemaster for a major metro hospital recently, they set their prices by taking the Medicare reimbursement rate, and multiplying by 8.

Simple change to next year's Medicare plans: if you accept Medicare you cannot charge any patient more than you charge Medicare.

That was tried during the Clinton administration. Result: many doctors dropped all their Medicare patients, making it impractical for Medicare patients to find a doctor to treat certain conditions.

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

#265

Post by simplecomplex »

matthewaveryusa wrote: post #245
simplecomplex wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just a reminder for those reading: you don’t need to pay medical bills, nothing is going to happen except a bad credit report. Go to the hospital, let them bill you, and then throw the bills in the trash.

They can (eventually) garnish your wages. I wonder at what point they do that.

Only if they sell the debt to a creditor (hospitals and doctors can’t garnish wages) sue you, win, and pursue the judgement. And then they can only take from your disposable income (after rent, food, other bills, etc.)

And you can wipe out all of it by filing bankruptcy.

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

#266

Post by omegaworks »

dmitrygr wrote: post #253
jellicle wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The reason is so that there aren't "boutique" private practices. Keeping the rich people in the same boat as the poor people is actually quite important for the long-term health and welfare of the system. Members of the Canadian parliament have the same healthcare system as anyone else. Thus they aren't terribly tempted to cut it. If private insurance was allowed (in Canada), the elite would have expensive plans that…

So how do you justify to your family that you are voting for someone who will reduce availability of very specialized treatment for them (those boutique doctors), so some random people you've never heard of can have better care "on average"? Becuase that's where I get stuck.

Specialized care is not synonymous with boutique care. We have a robust research and development economy in the US that will continue to exist without the perverse incentives of private insurance.

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

#267

Post by alexanderdmitri »

com2kid wrote: post #246
maximente wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

most are still stuck in the loyalty type mentality buffered by things like patriotism and national anthems and flags for any event with >5 people and a TV camera. 50 years ago people had the same loyalty towards their companies, and look where that got US manufacturing workers. nowadays you'd be nuts to expect to stick with a company for 10 years. get yours and get out: others be damned. so it shall be with citizensh…

Last time I went to the ER I got an itemized bill in a week for $300 or so. All medical imaging I've had done has had pricing given up front showing what they where going to bill the insurance company and what the insurance company was going to pay and what I'd have to pay. My non-emergency visits have a $40 copay up front. Only the nightmare cases get talked about.

Conjecture is silly when there's good data to be had.

The number one cause of bankruptcy in the United States:

> "medical expenses"[0]

The average amount charged for an ER visit in the United States:

> between 2008 and 2017, the average price of hospital ER visits rose 135 percent, from $393 to $924[1]

The cost of an ambulance ride in the United States:

> $164/mile[2]

And make sure to compound the monetary cost with the cost of people avoiding medical care out of fear and unknowns surrounding the actual monetary cost.

[0] take your pick of any study done by anyone

[1] https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/average-cost-o...

[2] https://www.consumerreports.org/consumerist/164-per-mile-sur...

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

#268

Post by Ididntdothis »

Gibbon1 wrote: post #256
Ididntdothis wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is no single European one. There is a whole range of systems that are very different.

A lot of systems will work when the people involved are acting in good faith. And that is what's missing from the US system. US corporations and government have been captured by looters.

That’s probably the real problem.

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

#269

Post by specialist »

greggman2 wrote: post #219
TheSpiceIsLife wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why aren’t US citizens queuing up to emigrate? At this stage, it seems like the US is the “land of the free”, whereby “freedom” is defined as the ability to freely exploit everyone.

For one, probably because these stories are the exception? I know a bunch of people will probably tell me I'm wrong and I might be (haven't used the US health system in a 3 or 4 years since I moved out) but for most people their insurance just covers it (or medicade if they're old). Otherwise most people don't want to leave their friends and family Note: not defending the horrible system. Only suggesting that most pe…

I'm a lifelong patient. I currently have great coverage.

I don't know how it's possible, but our healthcare system has been getting worse every year. Even simple stuff like refilling scripts has become Kafka Meets Keystone Kops. The insurer has interjected itself into every single transaction, second guessing everything, adding ever more hoops to jump thru.

It's a wonder that we even bother with doctors any more, since the insurers apparently know better than my doctors.

Things are so bad, I wouldn't even know where to start if anyone wanted to fix things.

Better to just start over.

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

#270

Post by ConcernedCoder »

privateSFacct wrote: post #230
ConcernedCoder wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are all salaried employees, so Kaiser can work from a 'fixed cost' perspective ( as told to me by a surgical nurse ).

100% false! That would be totally illegal. California CLEARLY bans hospitals from doing this.

I mean, you can even google it like I did, from this page: https://www.ophthoquestions.com/posts/why-i-left-kaiser-and-...

"For those who are not familiar with the Kaiser system, here is a very abbreviated explanation. Kaiser Permanente is an HMO, and consists of the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan (the Kaiser insurance) and the Permanente Medical Groups (the Kaiser doctors). The patients buy the Kaiser insurance and they are only allowed to see Kaiser doctors. The Kaiser doctors are salaried from the pool of insurance premiums and provide service only to the Kaiser patients. In the Kaiser model, services are prepaid, so there is no financial incentive or penalty to providing or receiving medical care."

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