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Show HN: Compare prices that US hospitals charge patients, insurance companies

turquoise.health

351–360 of 389 posts

Re: Show HN: Compare prices that US hospitals charge patients, insurance companies

#351
post #344

Earlier quoted context omitted.

£9.15 per item [independent of its cost] That's basically what a copay is.

Aren't a lot of copay's percentage based?

That form is more precisely called coinsurance, with the precise definition of copay being the case where you pay a fixed amount of money per occurrence.

Re: Show HN: Compare prices that US hospitals charge patients, insurance companies

#353
post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the things that EU countries do is negotiate with the the drug manufacturers. So UK in this case of Lumacaftor, didn't cover the drug until they got a reasonable price. This meant a 4 year delay in access to the drug vs the US. > It was approved for medical use in the United States in 2015, and in Canada in 2016.[3][5] In the United States it costs more than $US 22,000 a month as of 2018.[6][7] While its use w…

I don't think you can really say that the US has "access" to a drug when it costs $22,000/month, which, given the median household income of $68,700/yr, is nearly 4x more than the average American makes in a month.

Many Americans who use expensive specialty drugs have prescription drug coverage and don’t pay the entire price of the drug. And/or they get a discount through manufacturers programs. That said, my insurance does not cover the above drug.

Re: Show HN: Compare prices that US hospitals charge patients, insurance companies

#354

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe a reform of the healthcare system should include paying for medical school. Let's offer a deal: You go to med school for free, then you work for the government for a decent professional salary.

US medical education length is insane. Get an undergraduate degree (pre-med). Then go to med school. Then a residency. Then you can practice. Other countries do just fine with much less.

Indeed, and I think we can also make better use of the "lesser" medical degrees as well. For instance I get most of my primary care from a nurse-practitioner or physicians-assistant. My parents' most beloved primary care "doctor," who is an absolute superstar, is a nurse-practitioner.

Maybe there could be some kind of a continuous work-and-training ladder, where you start as a NP, and move your way up as you get more training and practice. Or you can stop whenever you think you've reached your desired level.

Re: Show HN: Compare prices that US hospitals charge patients, insurance companies

#356
post #298

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The main thing I take on faith is that people are different and one-size fits all solutions don't produce good outcomes. We have different car brands, grocery stores, non-health insurance companies, package delivery companies, retailers, and housing options. Some people want fast and cheap. Others want to drive an hour to save a few bucks. This isn't some technical academic point. Without a range of choices, you actu…

> Umm...why not? You can't just hand-wave that away. Sorry, I should have elaborated. It's a city state with unusually high levels of both social compliance and government control, population is fairly wealthy and fairly evenly distributed. So - small population is a very small area simplifies logistics a ton. Especially ignoring problems related to migrant workers (it's own set of problems), most people have both hi…

Sidecar Health's website exactly what their insurance pays for a procedure/doctor-visit/Rx -> https://app.sidecarhealth.com/previewCoverage

Re: Show HN: Compare prices that US hospitals charge patients, insurance companies

#357

It would be nice to be able to see the lowest & highest prices & other stats. I can manually find the lowest price by sorting by price but I can't seem to reverse it to show the highest price first... Anyway, it seems that there are orders of magnitude differences for the same service. The service 'MRI Lumbar Spine With & Without Contrast Material' has a lowest price of $210 while the closest and highest I personally…

>How can there be such a large difference in price for something that, I believe, is legally & medically the same procedure? If no one publishes their prices how do you set yours? 2 dollars? 2000 dollars? 2m dollars?

Sidecar Health's website publishes exactly what their insurance pays for a procedure/doctor-visit/Rx -> https://app.sidecarhealth.com/previewCoverage

Re: Show HN: Compare prices that US hospitals charge patients, insurance companies

#359
post #336

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In terms of moderate tweaks to an enormous problem, AHP reform for small businesses is comparatively low-hanging fruit that could help businesses today meet the minimum requirements for attracting talent - health insurance. Your proposal may be better in the long term, but the journey there is not simple by any means.

My proposal could be done immediately. All the infrastructure already exists. Remove the tax deduction for employers, give it to individuals on healthcare.gov, job done. Or ban employer sponsored health insurance and don’t offer anyone a tax deduction. Either way, it’s all just a matter of changing regulation. The real problem is big business will lobby against it because it gives them an advantage over small busines…

> immediately

Theoretically only, perhaps. I feel like you're overestimating the ability of our regulatory bureaucracy to implement change, or assuming that if you (or I) were dictator the proposal could be done immediately. But imagine flushing out that proposal nationally, getting it through the Legislature (with all the conflicting interests of the medical field, employers, etc), President and then implementation. Comp structures nationally would radically change, so such an overhaul would have to be phased in even if you did get through the gauntlet of bill approval.

Re: Show HN: Compare prices that US hospitals charge patients, insurance companies

#360
post #88

Sometimes the cost is bigger than the cost in a different country plus the plane ticket.

What country lets non-citizens just walk in to use the health care system?

> What country lets non-citizens just walk in to use the health care system?

Almost all.

Non citizens just pay a fee or are reinbursed later by their insurance or healthcare system. In many cases citizens from country 'A' can use healthcare in 'B' as long as their own citizens will be granted the same treatment in exchange when visiting 'A'. It depends on the treatises signed between the two countries.

Allowing foreigners to use the health care system for free is sometimes allowed (or even encouraged) if that protects the interests of the country.

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