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Show HN: I mapped US medical prices. Save thousands by driving a few miles

bestmedicareprice.com

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Re: Show HN: I mapped US medical prices. Save thousands by driving a few miles

#171

Post by aestra »

_delirium wrote: post #155
gaadd33 wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So if you go and say you are seizing, they will just stabilize you till you are done seizing then kick you out? Or at that point they will attempt to collect for the emergency care and prohibit further care until you can prove you can pay for it?

Generally yes. This comes up occasionally with cancer patients; if they have an acute issue the hospital must stabilize them, but the hospital doesn't have to actually treat their cancer. If they are very poor, they should in theory be covered by Medicaid, which will then pay for treatment. But this requires them to actually be in a condition (mentally/physically/education-wise) to figure out how to sign up and be ap…

>But this requires them to actually be in a condition (mentally/physically/education-wise) to figure out how to sign up and be approved for it, since coverage isn't automatic.

This is a tough one. I have a disabled family member who would have never been able to do this themselves.

Re: Show HN: I mapped US medical prices. Save thousands by driving a few miles

#172

Post by aestra »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #62
refurb wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can I ask why you're spending thousands of dollars on Rx and care? From what I've gathered Medicaid patients have co-pays of $3-$5 on drugs and very small office visit co-pays. I'm not questioning your story, just genuinely curious what the extra costs are.

Not a problem My mother is covered by Indiana's medicaid program, as she's at the poverty level but not old enough yet to qualify for Medicare. Her prescription buydown/deductible every month is $550, which I pay for. If you don't mind, I don't want to list specific medications, as it might make it easier to determine her identity. She takes medication for bone mineralization, hormone replacement due to a heart condi…

Have you looked at programs offered through the manufacturer of her medications? Many have programs for free or low cost meds for low income people who are un or under insured.

Try here

http://www.pparx.org/en/prescription_assistance_programs/lis...

Re: Show HN: I mapped US medical prices. Save thousands by driving a few miles

#173

Post by clarebear »

thrownaway2424 wrote: post #93

This is cute, but it is based on a flawed premise. There are not "prices" for medical procedures and even the providers don't know what they are going to charge. Anecdata: when my wife was pregnant I asked the hospital what are the basic charges for normal obstetric delivery, since we were paying out of pocket. I got a reply in writing that it was $20k, a suspiciously round number without itemization. The baby comes…

Next time, try a midwife if you and your wife are comfortable with home birth. In the Denver area it runs about $3k for parental care, the birth, and post birth check ups. Also, you don't have to deal with hospitals. I had one of my kids at home with a midwife and I wish it would have been both. If you actually need one, then the midwife will take you to a hospital.

Re: Show HN: I mapped US medical prices. Save thousands by driving a few miles

#174

Post by aestra »

npalli wrote: post #35
dougmccune wrote: post #26

What's the consumer use for this? Is it for people without insurance? From what I understand this is the rate that Medicare has negotiated from these providers. But I assume this isn't for people with Medicare, since those people are covered with Medicare. I assume the dollar values don't have much relation to the reality that an uninsured individual would be billed, since Medicare negotiates pretty aggressively for…

Even with insurance your coinsurance could be up to 20%. So, for complex procedures, it is very useful to see if you can get it done some place cheaper. First example of intracranial hemorrhage, price ranges from $9,540 - $234,913. Certainly gives a lot of input to make an appropriate decision. Very unlikely that without medicare negotiation, prices will magically converge to some middle point for all of them.

Doesn't mean too much actually. Insurance companies have their own negotiated prices that are lower than that.

Re: Show HN: I mapped US medical prices. Save thousands by driving a few miles

#175

Post by jmadsen »

pseingatl wrote: post #150
hotloo wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks :) I fix it then :)

It is utterly unfair to complain about errors made by non-native speakers who are making a good faith effort to communicate in English.

Why not?

It's not an attack on him personally, but ...why not?

Read the rest of his posts. He clearly has a very high level of English, and can state his ideas and opinions clearly. Yet he fell into the same shit-English trap that his friends are all in.

My complaint isn't that someone made a mistake. My complaint is that someone who knows better couldn't give a fuck to say it correctly.

This is about standards, not grammar mistakes. There's no difference between someone who speaks English at his level saying "my friend and me", and an experienced programmer not error handling his code because he's in a rush.

I don't point this problem out where ever I see it because I'm an anal Grammar Nazi; I point it out because it is slipshod, lazy, I-don't-give-a-shit attitude. It is becoming the norm among people who grew up on chat and it is garbage.

I stand by my statement; ESL students learn this in their second week of English class, and hotloo says it because he is copying his native friends on chat who speak like crap, and now he is picking up all their bad habits as well.

So hotloo, do yourself a favor and take this to heart. Some day you'll be in a suit and tie, in front of people who care about this sort of thing, and it will win land you a contract or a good job or something important you want.

Re: Show HN: I mapped US medical prices. Save thousands by driving a few miles

#176

Post by aestra »

yodsanklai wrote: post #167
thrownaway2424 wrote: post #93

This is cute, but it is based on a flawed premise. There are not "prices" for medical procedures and even the providers don't know what they are going to charge. Anecdata: when my wife was pregnant I asked the hospital what are the basic charges for normal obstetric delivery, since we were paying out of pocket. I got a reply in writing that it was $20k, a suspiciously round number without itemization. The baby comes…

"I got a reply in writing that it was $20k" That sounds unbelievable! how can it be? it has to be a marginal case. I know at least two people that had babies in the US and barely pay anything (neither for the delivery nor for other medical acts before and after). They were PhD students or postdocs. What I am wondering is on average how much an american pays for having a baby?

Those people probably had health insurance and did not pay out of pocket, their insurance footed the bill. I know someone who paid out of pocket for a delivery and I think they said it was around $12K.

Re: Show HN: I mapped US medical prices. Save thousands by driving a few miles

#178

Post by novalis78 »

Splendor wrote: post #110
benmathes wrote: post #74

Incredibly useful if you're on medicare (what the price data is based on). For the majority of us _not_ on medicare, castlighthealth.com is solving this. It's B2B for now, i.e. Tesla pays for castlight and then its employees can use castlight to find out how much things will cost.

I just met with Castlight this week. They have a really slick tool. Other companies like Change Healthcare and Healthcare Blue Book are trying to solve the problem too (with their own B2B solutions).

..and pricepain.com

Re: Show HN: I mapped US medical prices. Save thousands by driving a few miles

#179

Post by novalis78 »

forgottenpaswrd wrote: post #141

Medical prices are so outrageous in the US that, in theory, the medical business is a good field for startup disruption. Real disruption, not showing prices on a page but having actual good doctors at a good price. There is a monopoly today controlled by few.

snaphealth tries to do just that. hopefully they get more traction in 2014. Concierge doctors are all over the US as well, but its still hard to compare them or find a place that does that

Re: Show HN: I mapped US medical prices. Save thousands by driving a few miles

#180

Post by novalis78 »

x0054 wrote: post #142
matwood wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dispute all of it and the bill will likely be way less than 20k. I had mallet finger once and I got a bill of thousands of dollars and charge for a broken finger, then a set, and multiple check up visits. In reality I went to the doctor once, got an xray, he gave me a splint and said don't take it off for 8 weeks. I never went back for a second visit because it wasn't needed assuming I followed the treatment of did n…

This is exactly why I get so pissed about the Affordable Care Act! We are not solving the problem of why medical care in USA is so outrageously expensive, we instead are solving the problem of how to pay for it. The problem is, once most people have insurance, there will be no political will to solve the much more complex and important problem of reducing the healthcare costs for everyone. Incidentally, totally agree…

I think you hit the nail on the head. I had a similar story as the OP and after complaining and looking into the price I never heard back from the hospital. In hindsight their actions reminded of highway robbery. This year with the Surgical Center of Oklahoma and the time magazine article on medical billing though a lot of information has come out. Price comparision websites like pricepain.com, clearhealthcost, bluebook of healthcosts etc, are just the beginning. It's almost like a race against the clock where either ACA's price inflation will create so much political upheaval that the single payer system hands this inefficent (non existant!) market place over to the tax-payer (which will mean ever inflating prices) or a solution like this, with dramatically visible pricing information, direct doctor pay, low cost catastrophic insurance will emerge as the saner, cheaper and higher quality solution.
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