Why an MRI costs $1,080 in America and $280 in France
washingtonpost.com
Why an MRI costs $1,080 in America and $280 in France
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Re: Why an MRI costs $1,080 in America and $280 in France
#2Anyone who has insurance doesn't care about the price. They only care about the deductible. When people shop around, they look for the insurance companies that provide the lowest deductibles and stick with them. After that, there's no pressure on the providers to lower prices. The insurance companies in the US don't negotiate lower prices, they just pass on the cost to policy holders in their deductibles. The providers can increase the price without fearing that patients will go to a different clinic or buy a different generic version of their drug. Medical care in the US is one of the only industries where raising the price can get your more customers, since it makes the government push for universal health insurance to keep deductibles low.
There are a few solutions, two of which were mentioned in the article. The insurance companies can negotiate prices with providers, or the government can set the price. A third option is to let the patients themselves set the price by having them shop around. The patients would put pressures on the providers by going where they can get the cheapest MRI or the cheapest Lipitor. Then insurance would be reserved for emergency procedures, instead of being used as a medical credit card.
Re: Why an MRI costs $1,080 in America and $280 in France
#3 If there was medical procedure that would cost a lot in a hospital an MRI would not surprise me, it such a large powerful, power hungry, complex device I can't see how it couldn't.
I wish each person could get access to an MRI each year it would be nice to track your health visually.
Re: Why an MRI costs $1,080 in America and $280 in France
#4If there was medical procedure that would cost a lot in a hospital an MRI would not surprise me, it such a large powerful, power hungry, complex device I can't see how it couldn't. I wish each person could get access to an MRI each year it would be nice to track your health visually.
Everything is big in USA. Even the MRI's. We in Europe developed some smaller MRIs. They are cheaper and have better mileage per gallon but are very uncomfortable.
Re: Why an MRI costs $1,080 in America and $280 in France
#5For what it's worth, it's ~$160 in Japan. (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1205455...)
Interesting seeing this here on HN after my wife and I just finished watching "Frontline: Sick in America" on Netflix tonight, in which an American reporter travels to 5 countries that provide some form of universal healthcare to discuss (with doctors, administrators, and patients) the different mechanics, what percentage of GDP they spend on healthcare, what wait times and gate keeper policies are like, what financial issues exist, etc. The fixed, negotiated price for MRIs was one of the things he discusses. (http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Frontline_Sick_Around_the_...) I grew up with nationalized healthcare, but found the documentary quite informative.
Re: Why an MRI costs $1,080 in America and $280 in France
#6Anyone who has insurance doesn't care about the price. They only care about the deductible. When people shop around, they look for the insurance companies that provide the lowest deductibles and stick with them. After that, there's no pressure on the providers to lower prices. The insurance companies in the US don't negotiate lower prices, they just pass on the cost to policy holders in their deductibles. The provide…
I don't know about you, but next time I need an emergency room or surgical procedure, I'm not going to be shopping for the cheapest one. The article addressed this - how do you 'shop around' when you're under anesthesia, and would you really hire the cheapest doctor to diagnose your daughters life threatening ailment? It just doesn't play out in reality.
Re: Why an MRI costs $1,080 in America and $280 in France
#7For what it's worth, it's ~$160 in Japan. ( http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1205455... ) Interesting seeing this here on HN after my wife and I just finished watching "Frontline: Sick in America" on Netflix tonight, in which an American reporter travels to 5 countries that provide some form of universal healthcare to discuss (with doctors, administrators, and patients) the different mechanics, wh…
MRI specifically is overused and kind of crappy in Japan. In the rest of the world, the standard is for a 1-3T MR study; in Japan, you get a lot of 0.5 and even lower (0.2T! wtf) MR studies. They're used for a lot of health screenings, whereas in the rest of the world they're more often used for actual problems.
Re: Why an MRI costs $1,080 in America and $280 in France
#8If there was medical procedure that would cost a lot in a hospital an MRI would not surprise me, it such a large powerful, power hungry, complex device I can't see how it couldn't. I wish each person could get access to an MRI each year it would be nice to track your health visually.
The capital costs for an MRI, while large, are not the biggest part of the price. I had an MRI done in Pune (with a good machine, 3T/32 channels) for 6500rs/$130.
Labor costs are a biggie. In the US, you need to pay technicians high US salaries, in the $60-70k neighborhood from what I hear. In Pune, the technician is almost certainly poorer than 95% of Americans. The high ratio of capital costs/labor costs also causes higher utilization of the MRI - in the US, many MRI places are 9-6, I had my MRI done in Pune at 9:30pm, and someone went in after I finished.
Labor costs are actually a much bigger deal than GDP figures would suggest. High skill individuals get a much bigger premium in the US than most of the rest of the world. A top 1% person in the US gets $384k/year, in Canada only $181k.
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/75-001-x/2007109/article/409688...
Re: Why an MRI costs $1,080 in America and $280 in France
#9Anyone who has insurance doesn't care about the price. They only care about the deductible. When people shop around, they look for the insurance companies that provide the lowest deductibles and stick with them. After that, there's no pressure on the providers to lower prices. The insurance companies in the US don't negotiate lower prices, they just pass on the cost to policy holders in their deductibles. The provide…
I don't know about you, but next time I need an emergency room or surgical procedure, I'm not going to be shopping for the cheapest one. The article addressed this - how do you 'shop around' when you're under anesthesia, and would you really hire the cheapest doctor to diagnose your daughters life threatening ailment? It just doesn't play out in reality.
Next time, read the comment you decide to respond to it. He clearly says that one would shop around only for non-emergency procedures.
Re: Why an MRI costs $1,080 in America and $280 in France
#10For what it's worth, it's ~$160 in Japan. ( http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1205455... ) Interesting seeing this here on HN after my wife and I just finished watching "Frontline: Sick in America" on Netflix tonight, in which an American reporter travels to 5 countries that provide some form of universal healthcare to discuss (with doctors, administrators, and patients) the different mechanics, wh…
MRI specifically is overused and kind of crappy in Japan. In the rest of the world, the standard is for a 1-3T MR study; in Japan, you get a lot of 0.5 and even lower (0.2T! wtf) MR studies. They're used for a lot of health screenings, whereas in the rest of the world they're more often used for actual problems.
Is this because as the price drops more applications become cost-effective?