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Most people have no idea there are two prices at the pump most of the time. And most would buy without looking , no different than voting for a person who you know nothing of, ie Obama,.
It's due in part to the fact that hospitals are organized as monopolistic cartels within cities, so there is no Free Market at play.
Hospitals are organized as monopolistic cartels because State laws exempt hospitals from anti-trust actions.
Hospitals obtain anti-trust exemptions by claiming that the good hospitals do, far outweighs the negative impacts of monopolistic pricing.
They certainly can have a relative monopoly in some areas and exert undue price controls, but most hospitals are private businesses and subject to anti-trust laws.
Heck I once thought I started an anti-trust action against one of our hospital's previous owners. But found out too late, and before there was any formal paperwork, that the lawyer I thought I was hiring was already working on the hospital's side!
Something that needs as much attention if not more attention than universal healthcare and insurance reform is pricing transparency. It amazes me how people are okay with the way pricing works now.
Healthcare is the only industry where people accept not knowing what something will cost until after a point of service, and being okay with being unable to shop around transparently. The same two surgeries at two hospitals in the same city can vary by tens of thousands of dollars.
It would be like not knowing how much the gasoline at the pump costs per gallon until after you fill up, or a car dealership telling you to drive the car home and they will send you a bill of sale in 2 weeks, or having the same pair of Levi jeans cost $50 at one store and $500 at a store across the street, but no one knowing the price until after purchase.
I would not utilize any healthcare service (barring an emergency) until I get an itemized contract telling me exactly how much everything will cost that me and the healthcare provider agree upon beforehand. In an ideal world...fortunately that worked out for me with a very specialized dermatologist and a plastic surgeon.
For more simple medical things prices can be had. Office visit. Blood test. Medication. But with more complex, acute and chronic conditions overall pricing is much harder. How simple is it to price a heart attack for instance? Not like a gas pump!
So, when you've gone to bed the doctor and blood was drawn to be sent to the lab, your doctor told you the prices of everything without you asking?
I'm sorry, but I just can't buy that.
Have you been doing in the hospital and were told what the IV was costing you when they brought it in?
They told me my out of pocket cost. Which is usually my copay. When they do a lab that's not fully covered, they do tell me that and offer to find out how much before taking the extra lab. Possibly I just have really awesome doctors.
Every time I've had an IV in the hospital it's been fully covered (c-section) or emergency (appendectomy). But at all of my doctors and OBs, and all of my children's pediatricians, specialists, neurologists, dentists, orthodontists, psychologists, and therapists, they've always told me or offered to tell me out of pocket costs up front. Not actual procedure costs, but how much I would have to pay that insurance wouldn't cover. Anytime I've asked the receptionist for costs for upcoming scheduled procedures, they've always been able to tell me.
Now I realize I have really good insurance and really good doctors. Is it different for those who don't maybe?
For more simple medical things prices can be had. Office visit. Blood test. Medication. But with more complex, acute and chronic conditions overall pricing is much harder. How simple is it to price a heart attack for instance? Not like a gas pump!
Yes but it's not like you're going to shop around for that heart attack either lol.
They told me my out of pocket cost. Which is usually my copay. When they do a lab that's not fully covered, they do tell me that and offer to find out how much before taking the extra lab. Possibly I just have really awesome doctors.
Every time I've had an IV in the hospital it's been fully covered (c-section) or emergency (appendectomy). But at all of my doctors and OBs, and all of my children's pediatricians, specialists, neurologists, dentists, orthodontists, psychologists, and therapists, they've always told me or offered to tell me out of pocket costs up front. Not actual procedure costs, but how much I would have to pay that insurance wouldn't cover. Anytime I've asked the receptionist for costs for upcoming scheduled procedures, they've always been able to tell me.
Now I realize I have really good insurance and really good doctors. Is it different for those who don't maybe?
I'm covered by one of the top carriers and have great doctors. Of course they tell you what the copay is so you can pay it. The only reason they might offer to find out the cost ahead of time is if, at some point, you asked what the cost would be for something, or expressed concern about what the cost might be for something. No doctor's office offers to do that as normal operating procedure or they'd get nothing done.
Wow good point. Funny how we just accept certain things.
But there are more important matters, such as transgender bathroom policies. So stop talking about things that actually matter and argue about where a man can and cannot go pee.
I'm covered by one of the top carriers and have great doctors. Of course they tell you what the copay is so you can pay it. The only reason they might offer to find out the cost ahead of time is if, at some point, you asked what the cost would be for something, or expressed concern about what the cost might be for something. No doctor's office offers to do that as normal operating procedure or they'd get nothing done.
That is a good point. It is not easy negotiating with the doc while you're in the office seeing him or her. That takes too much time, and it raises the docs liability.
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