Hospitals release lists of retail prices for services • Hacker News Board

Re: Hospitals release lists of retail prices for services

#41

Post by maxerickson » Sun, Jan 13, 2019, 3:29 AM UTC

40four wrote: post #31

This is very exciting to me. I have been wanting this for a long time, and I belive it's a small step towards improving the healthcare system in the United States. It shouldn't matter these aren't he "real" prices, as so many folks have been quick to point out. But it's the starting point for what ever you think the "real" price is, and it's information that has never been easily accessible to the public until now. A…

The worst situation is to have high deductible insurance. Then you have to pay the prices the insurance negotiates out of pocket (at least if you want the costs to apply against that high deductible).

If you don't have insurance the hospital will take what they can get.

Re: Hospitals release lists of retail prices for services

#42

Post by joshgel » Sun, Jan 13, 2019, 3:46 AM UTC

abalone wrote: post #39

> Modern Healthcare decided to see how long it would take to present the data in a more consumer-friendly format. It took less than two hours Having been through several hundred thousand dollars of chargemaster charges with one of the hospitals on this list I can confidently say this info is not consumer-friendly at all. First of all, did anyone look at the damn PDFs? Do you have any idea what a "HCHG SP EVAL MTN FLU…

I'm a doctor. I'm pretty sure I know what those things mean. But ya, wouldn't expect you to.

Ultimately that's irrelevant, because you don't choose the services you get in a hospital, "I" do. If I come in and recommend this or that test, are you going to check the price? Of course not, because the issue is only partially hidden prices. Its also knowledge asymmetry and fear. I think most doctors only recommend tests they feel will be helpful and in my current position I have absolutely no incentive to order extra or unnecessary testing, so I try not to.

I suspect (but I guess it hasn't been proven) that moving away from fee-for-service towards Medical Home type payments will resolve a lot of this as long as quality measures are carefully monitored and decreases in quality are appropriately sanctioned.

Re: Hospitals release lists of retail prices for services

#43

Post by woogiewonka » Sun, Jan 13, 2019, 3:50 AM UTC

Is anyone planning to scan all the available PDFs or data sources and put together a comprehensive tool for all hospitals in each state? Now THAT would be a hell of a tool to get hospitals scrambling to lower "not real" prices.

Re: Hospitals release lists of retail prices for services

#44

Post by grogenaut » Sun, Jan 13, 2019, 4:14 AM UTC

beager wrote: post #26

kylec wrote: post #3

Now that this information is public, I'm looking forward to the startups that will aggregate this info and let you cross-shop hospitals to get the lowest price, like for flights

I’d rather see a Glassdoor-like portal where you can see what people really paid for billed services directly or via insurance vis a vis the “list price”. That’d be helpful to advise folks who might be negotiating a medical bill to know what payment is likely to be accepted.

What's stopping you from building it? I was also interested in this but wanted to wait until this data became available. Could probbably OCR out people's names pretty quick as well to privacy for them and make em feel better.

Re: Hospitals release lists of retail prices for services

#45

Post by jtbayly » Sun, Jan 13, 2019, 4:22 AM UTC

Mtinie wrote: post #35

jtbayly wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is an incredibly abnormal for a hospital to be unwilling to negotiate. It is quite normal to be given prices ahead of time that have no connection to reality.

> It is quite normal to be given prices ahead of time that have no connection to reality. Why is this acceptable? (You aren’t advocating for it, and are only “the messenger”, so I’m not critical of your comment, simply that it even happens.)

Because everything was set up for the consumer to not care what the prices are. Because doctors bill separately from the hospital. Because the pricing depends on so many variables. Lots of reasons, sadly. But this is a (small) step in the right direction.

Re: Hospitals release lists of retail prices for services

#46

Post by [deleted] » Sun, Jan 13, 2019, 4:23 AM UTC

grogenaut wrote: post #44

beager wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’d rather see a Glassdoor-like portal where you can see what people really paid for billed services directly or via insurance vis a vis the “list price”. That’d be helpful to advise folks who might be negotiating a medical bill to know what payment is likely to be accepted.

What's stopping you from building it? I was also interested in this but wanted to wait until this data became available. Could probbably OCR out people's names pretty quick as well to privacy for them and make em feel better.

[deleted]

Re: Hospitals release lists of retail prices for services

#47

Post by all2 » Sun, Jan 13, 2019, 4:31 AM UTC

analog31 wrote: post #16

tehlike wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One step at a time.

Indeed the entire ledger should be made public, so we see how prices vary depending on circumstances, and also, where the money is going.

What other for profit corporations do this?

Re: Hospitals release lists of retail prices for services

#48

Post by bmogen » Sun, Jan 13, 2019, 4:42 AM UTC

all2 wrote: post #47

analog31 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed the entire ledger should be made public, so we see how prices vary depending on circumstances, and also, where the money is going.

What other for profit corporations do this?

What other for-profit corporations operate within the premise of improving public health and have multiple federal agencies overseeing their operations?

Re: Hospitals release lists of retail prices for services

#49

Post by bmogen » Sun, Jan 13, 2019, 4:45 AM UTC

The startup that can take this data and hide it behind a UI that people use WHILE THEY'RE HEALTHY and then optimize care pathways before a health issue arises will be great (although probably not a great business).

Re: Hospitals release lists of retail prices for services

#50

Post by zeroname » Sun, Jan 13, 2019, 4:49 AM UTC

abalone wrote: post #39

> Modern Healthcare decided to see how long it would take to present the data in a more consumer-friendly format. It took less than two hours Having been through several hundred thousand dollars of chargemaster charges with one of the hospitals on this list I can confidently say this info is not consumer-friendly at all. First of all, did anyone look at the damn PDFs? Do you have any idea what a "HCHG SP EVAL MTN FLU…

Medicare for all would easily bankrupt hospitals. The money needs to come from somewhere. Either force people to buy insurance or raise taxes massively. Pick your poison.