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The amount paid to delivery a baby conventionally in America is over $9,000.00. Note, this is not the amount *billed*. Its the actual amount *paid*. The second most expensive country is Switzerland where the cost is a little over $4,000.00.
Something is badly out-of-whack with our system and just "shopping around" isn't going to fix it.
Correct, but unfortunately the fix is to redress the current imbalance that exists between suppliers and customers, and taking action to rebalance in favor of customers, especially on an industry-wide basis, is petulantly obstructed by apologists for big business, and others who care more about their own personal preferences and personal comfort and luxury rather than what's best for the nation as a whole and what's moral with regard to our treatment of those who due to systemic inequity are least able to afford the high cost of healthcare. The idea that capitalism works best when there is an even balance between the two parties in each transaction is a concept that escapes those who protect healthcare product and service providers from reasonable price regulation.
A few people shopping around won't fix it. When a lot of people are forced to, when they figure out that it's definitely worth the effort, it will impact the provider's bottom line and they will have to change.
We have been on a high deductible plan for years. We never even come close to the deductible so basically we are paying our insurance premium so that we can pay the much lower negotiated rate for healthcare. Only recently have I figured out that even the negotiated rate varies wildly from provider to provider by as much as $1000 for one procedure (an MRI). If you can pay cash the same day as the procedure and bypass the insurance company, you may be able to pay even less. Now I ask, and comparison shop. I'm starting to realize that certain hospital chains have much higher rates than other, equally good, facilities. If a doctor is affiliated with a more expensive chain and you need to undergo a test or procedure, it will be through them and you will pay triple, even quadruple what you will pay at another chain.
What I don't understand is this, why aren't the insurance companies doing more to make you aware of these huge differences in price? It benefits the insured and the insurer. If I were to have a medical condition that was likely to exceed my deductible, chances are it's pretty serious and is going to cost the company quite a bit. Wouldn't it be in everyone's interest to have the care provided by the least expensive but qualified provider from the beginning? Aetna has a navigator that you can log onto and research prices for various procedures but I have to proactively log on and search for it and they don't list everything. They aren't actively trying to steer us in any direction, even for treatment that requires pre-approval. i.e., why not, "we have approved you for physical therapy for treatment of your condition for 6 weeks. Oh by the way, the lowest negotiated rates in your area for that treatment are available at the following three facilities..."
Every year I am supposed to have a mammogram. It's preventative so the cost is paid completely by Aetna. At the facility that I've been going to the last few times, Aetna's negotiated rate is something like $250. Using their Navigator, I found out that less than a mile further down the road, they only have to pay I think it was $75! Hey Aetna, how about I go to the cheaper facility for the procedure you have to pay for anyway and we split the difference? I'll take a kickback! You win, I win and the more expensive provider thinks twice when it comes time to negotiate their rates again.
The insurers act like it's the insured who is the enemy but in the case of high deductible policies, we actually have a mutual interest in keeping the cost of healthcare down.
Insurers consider the prices for healthcare products and services as pass-through costs. If anything, boosting costs keeps their profit margins, expressed as percentages, lower, and therefore less likely to raise the ire of public oversight. (In other words, if insurers are to have ROI capped at a certain percentage of their costs, as seems to be the direction things would be heading, then increased costs yields higher ROI in real terms.)
I think one has to look at what the difference is in delivery. If you search there was a woman who husband worked in UK and she gave a view of the difference she experienced in delivery there and here. much different form pre-delivery to a delivery and after delivery of care she got to include testing and when she actually saw a doctor to the rooms type.
How long do the mothers and babies in other countries stay in the hospital though...many other countries the moms are kicked out in less than 24 hours....
Also, the amounts shown are for pre-natal care, delivery and post-natal care, not just having the baby. That is a year's worth of medical care, seeing the doctor once/month for the first few months up to seeing the dr weekly for the last few weeks, your hospital care/delivery, etc. as well as follow-up visits to your dr. And, the maternity departments in most US hospitals are pretty dang nice, plus they have to accommodate all kinds of whaky ways to give birth, etc. because too many people have goofy "birth plans" and whatnot....
How long do the mothers and babies in other countries stay in the hospital though...many other countries the moms are kicked out in less than 24 hours....
Also, the amounts shown are for pre-natal care, delivery and post-natal care, not just having the baby. That is a year's worth of medical care, seeing the doctor once/month for the first few months up to seeing the dr weekly for the last few weeks, your hospital care/delivery, etc. as well as follow-up visits to your dr.
Are you saying there are variables in the number of visits not factored into the costs, therefore those numbers in inaccurate because we aren't comparing apples and apples?:
On its face, cost of all the services you mentioned - by country - are:
Further, I seriously doubt Switzerland kicks its moms out immediately after birth. Switzerland is an excellent country to compare with US because it is a very rich country which treats its citizens well in addition to taxing its citizens at a very high rate.
Our cost is of twice that of Switzerland. The variables cannot possibly account for that.
Our Alice in Wonderland system of for-profit medicine does.
Are you saying there are variables in the number of visits not factored into the costs, therefore those numbers in inaccurate because we aren't comparing apples and apples?:
On its face, cost of all the services you mentioned - by country - are:
Further, I seriously doubt Switzerland kicks its moms out immediately after birth. Switzerland is an excellent country to compare with US because it is a very rich country which treats its citizens well in addition to taxing its citizens at a very high rate.
Our cost is of twice that of Switzerland. The variables cannot possibly account for that.
Our Alice in Wonderland system of for-profit medicine does.
Actually--it sounds like things aren't all that rosy for Maternity care in Switzerland..you have to pay a pretty high premium for a private room-otherwise you are in a "public ward" with you and 6-10 of your closest baby-having friends...probably explains the cost difference right there.....here in the US a private room after delivery is pretty much the norm everywhere....
Actually--it sounds like things aren't all that rosy for Maternity care in Switzerland..you have to pay a pretty high premium for a private room-otherwise you are in a "public ward" with you and 6-10 of your closest baby-having friends...probably explains the cost difference right there.....here in the US a private room after delivery is pretty much the norm everywhere....
What?? We aren't talking about charity cases - we're talking about people with private insurance - at least I think we are.
Please point to the specific post where it talks about 6-10 people in a ward. Every post I've read so far is talking about a semi-private room - with one other occupant.
Quote:
From what i have experienced if you have private insurance you shouldn't be on a public ward at all, you should have your own room.
For semi private you should have 2 per room, or something similar.
At Lachen Spital we paid only 800CHF and it covered the full 5 day stay, private "family" room (they pushed two beds together) and meals for the husband every day.
Maybe you're talking about Tanzania?? That I would believe.
Fwiw, when I had my son 46 yrs ago, I had a semi-private room - one other occupant at our leading maternity hospital. Don't remember the cost. Never gave it a thought, then. I doubt we paid a dime.
Last edited by Ariadne22; 07-02-2013 at 03:17 PM..
How long do the mothers and babies in other countries stay in the hospital
though...many other countries the moms are kicked out in less than 24 hours....
If you read the article carefully, you'll get an answer to every question that you've asked. Citizens of other countries routinely spend longer in the hospital for maternity than Americans do. The specific example of France was provided in the article where women ordinarily spend about a week in the hospital. France is not atypical. In our country, on the other hand, my son was allowed to stay exactly one day in the hospital and discharged with a birth weight of 5 pounds and 8 ounces. Fortunately, although he was small, he was healthy enough and he did fine outside the hospital.
Quote:
Also, the amounts shown are for pre-natal care, delivery and post-natal care,
not just having the baby. That is a year's worth of medical care, seeing the
doctor once/month for the first few months up to seeing the dr weekly for the
last few weeks, your hospital care/delivery, etc. as well as follow-up visits to
your dr. And, the maternity departments in most US hospitals are pretty dang
nice, plus they have to accommodate all kinds of whaky ways to give birth, etc.
because too many people have goofy "birth plans" and whatnot....
The example of Ireland is specifically given in the article. Ireland provides comprehensive maternity services to all its citizens and residents. Comprehensive services include prenatal and post natal care.
America is not unique in having whacky people. In fact, we probably have a smaller percentage of drug addicts and alcoholics than many other countries that have universal health care do. Some how these societies make their systems function and do so at a fraction of the cost that we require to run our own system. Sometimes, I think maternity and other departments are too nice. They try to cater to every whim to draw in new patients. Instead, they should offer stock, but good quality services.
Criticism of the article and of universal health care is always appropriate. I differentiate though between those who offer cogent criticism and those who constantly act as Apologists for the most expensive and inefficient health care system on the planet.
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