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Yes but it's not like you're going to shop around for that heart attack either lol.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hoonose
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!
It's very simple to price an heart attack.
An Emergency Room has a cost, that cost is fixed and unchanging, just like the ambulance transport fee has a cost which is fixed and unchanging.
An Emergency Operating Room also has a cost that is fixed and unchanging. The cost/fees of the doctors, nurses, technicians, anesthesiologist and other ER Operating Room personnel is fixed and unchanging.
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.
Apparently the democrats have proved that voters will accept a pig in a poke without question. We hjave to pass it to find out what is in it...the precedent has been set for blind proxy purchase.
An Emergency Room has a cost, that cost is fixed and unchanging, just like the ambulance transport fee has a cost which is fixed and unchanging.
An Emergency Operating Room also has a cost that is fixed and unchanging. The cost/fees of the doctors, nurses, technicians, anesthesiologist and other ER Operating Room personnel is fixed and unchanging.
Some basic parts of a heart attack can be priced. But depending on the severity, the hospital course could be short, sweet and cheap, or long, complicated, far more expensive or worse. Interventions, surgery or even life supports may be required. You may not know all this on day #1. One can certainly make an educated guess at the start, but not a definite full and final price.
Apparently the democrats have proved that voters will accept a pig in a poke without question. We hjave to pass it to find out what is in it...the precedent has been set for blind proxy purchase.
HC is so complex that this is not surprising at all. Many thousands of pages could never be fully vetted and digested in any short enough period of time to make this sort of legislation timely enough. This is one reason that incrementalism has been the norm with HC reforms. And why IMO Obamacare was way to much of a bite at one time.
Some basic parts of a heart attack can be priced. But depending on the severity, the hospital course could be short, sweet and cheap, or long, complicated, far more expensive or worse. Interventions, surgery or even life supports may be required. You may not know all this on day #1. One can certainly make an educated guess at the start, but not a definite full and final price.
That's the same with a lot of things. If you quote a construction project, the estimate they give you is not going to be exactly the same as the final price. There may end up being more labor than anticipated, more or less material used than estimated, various unforeseen problems that arise, etc. But at least you have a good idea what it will cost going into it and can make informed decisions.
That's the same with a lot of things. If you quote a construction project, the estimate they give you is not going to be exactly the same as the final price. There may end up being more labor than anticipated, more or less material used than estimated, various unforeseen problems that arise, etc. But at least you have a good idea what it will cost going into it and can make informed decisions.
Bids and contracts generally cover construction. Also useful for most of the easy, cheap and non-emergent encounters in medicine.
But a heart attack might cost $10K up to $1M. Very different than building a house. So we have insurance.
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