21–30 of 177 posts
Oh good God, I’d never thought of this... I’ve broken more bones than I care to count (wrist, triple torsion fracture in my ankle, two ribs twice, shoulder) and I’ve never paid a penny (here in Italy). I’d never even remotely contemplated it might be a cost beyond the annoyance.
Since their surgery center does not employ the army of administrators that is often required to haggle with insurers and follow up on Medicare reimbursements, their overhead is smaller. This is part of why Obamacare is fundamentally broken. Using the existing commercial insurance system to try to provide universal coverage injects unavoidable extra expense and complications. Really happy to hear about the trend the a…
Need surgery? Here are the prices: https://surgerycenterok.com/pricing/
A price list like this should be mandatory for all doctors.
I will gladly develop a cure for cancer, for the low, low price of $20B.
Sounds like the medical industry had better lobbyists.
I think it's an important reminder that markets need some level of transparency to function. And perhaps that relatively simple regulation (like a requirement to publish the prices -- or in other areas the first sale doctrine) might be the best regulation where feasible....
Hospital chargemasters are required to be public in California https://www.oshpd.ca.gov/Chargemaster/ Unfortunately, 1) The price agreements between hospitals and insurance companies are confidential, as both sides compete in their own industry and don't want to reveal their hands. 2) Consequently, chargemasters post some ridiculous price per procedure (with discounts available, naturally, to insurance carriers, who…
This is the number one issue that makes any kind of market mechanism impossible. These prices have to be made public. There should also not be much variation between prices for different insurers and not-insured. Hospitals should state a standard price like every other business has to do.
Since their surgery center does not employ the army of administrators that is often required to haggle with insurers and follow up on Medicare reimbursements, their overhead is smaller. This is part of why Obamacare is fundamentally broken. Using the existing commercial insurance system to try to provide universal coverage injects unavoidable extra expense and complications. Really happy to hear about the trend the a…
This may work for chronic conditions and non-lethal problems, but creates a problem when you're talking about urgent care: stroke has a 2-3 hour window for administration of TPA. The goal for intervention in a myocardial infarction is under an hour, same for trauma, where people may be in the ICU for days to months (a lot of months). Who covers those costs?
I am not advocating for this cash only option to be the entire system. I am merely saying that Obamacare is broken and I am glad to see alternatives emerging, given that Trump has so far failed to provide a real solution at the federal level.
> Setting and casting a basic leg Oh good God, I’d never thought of this... I’ve broken more bones than I care to count (wrist, triple torsion fracture in my ankle, two ribs twice, shoulder) and I’ve never paid a penny (here in Italy). I’d never even remotely contemplated it might be a cost beyond the annoyance.
Cash payments don't count toward a patient's (insurance) deductible This seems like a problem. How is this not an anti-trust violation? In order to benefit from the insurance contact you purchased, you must use a provider who will submit to an insurance company's capricious payment system.
> Setting and casting a basic leg Oh good God, I’d never thought of this... I’ve broken more bones than I care to count (wrist, triple torsion fracture in my ankle, two ribs twice, shoulder) and I’ve never paid a penny (here in Italy). I’d never even remotely contemplated it might be a cost beyond the annoyance.
How does one break so many bones?
edit: I was being sarcastic
C'mon. Orthopods might be able to replace knees on a fixed budget, but I'm thinking neurosurgeons and trauma surgeons would have a heckuva time. What about a dermatologist? Mole, sure? What if it's melanoma? What if you have mycosis fungoides? It'll take 5 years just to confidently diagnose.