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The current administration is attempting to force price-transparency on healthcare providers. Where this is currently in practice, patients are paying 30-50% less. https://www.patientrightsadvocate.or...oyee-solutions
We don't need to pay more. We need to pay less - and that is entirely possible.
I’ve worked at several hospitals and they act like they’re broke. Razor thin margins financially. If reimbursement was decreased I think we’d experience aging facilities, outdated equipment, less staff, longer wait times, perhaps closures or mass layoffs. You get what you pay for. I think if the government wants to regulate more, start with setting ratios for number of administrative employees vs clinical employees. Regulate big pharmaceutical greed. Reduce cost of supplies. Less coding, which in turn would be less labor costs for medical billing. Changing EMTALA so people will stop abusing ER’s.
What do you think of the Trump administration trying to force price-transparency in order to make the healthcare system join the free market?
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I recently had an infection and was prescribed 3 antibiotic pills. After picking them up (no charge since my annual $400 out-of-pocket has been met) I looked up the claim on my insurer website. It showed the retail non-insurance price as $93 for the 3 pills, and their "negotiated' cost as $1.97 . . . looking back at other office visits and procedures I find the same thing.
Doctors and hospitals charge a lot more for people paying themselves, while insurance companies have worked out "deals."
I recently had an infection and was prescribed 3 antibiotic pills. After picking them up (no charge since my annual $400 out-of-pocket has been met) I looked up the claim on my insurer website. It showed the retail non-insurance price as $93 for the 3 pills, and their "negotiated' cost as $1.97 . . . looking back at other office visits and procedures I find the same thing.
Doctors and hospitals charge a lot more for people paying themselves, while insurance companies have worked out "deals."
That's right. Sometimes its cheaper to buy on your own and not even use your drug plan. Or use the GoodRx cell phone app. But the drug insurance plan has you covered for serious medication costs. My wife's are over $20K/mo!
Doctors and hospitals charge a lot more for people paying themselves, while insurance companies have worked out "deals."
My experience has been the polar opposite. Ever since Obamacare and high deductibles (which means you have to pay out first), I've discovered that saying I'm a "cash patient" works out significantly cheaper than the "negotiated deal" if I were to go through insurance.
For example, I had the misfortune of spraining my ankle (really bad) and required PT to build up the strength. I called around and found a PT place that accepted my Obamacare plan and figured I would get the negotiated discount rate (since the plan wouldn't actually pay out), so I would save money. I was told the "discounted price" my plan negotiated was $130 per session (yikes), and then someone else stepped up to the adjacent window, saying she had no insurance. She was told that the cash price was $95. Hearing this, I said...."forget putting a claim through insurance; I'll pay the cash price," and the receptionist said "no, you already admitted you have insurance and we are required to put it through."
So, I ask you: why would an insurance company REQUIRE that the provider put through a claim, even if the patient wanted to pay cash? (And this bit about my "admitting" I had insurance makes it sound like it's a bad thing that I paid insurance premiums monthly, being a responsible person and all.)
Healthcare seems to be one of the biggest -- if not THE biggest -- issues of the 2020 election, so how much do you anticipate paying in 2019 for health insurance premiums (that you pay, either personally or through paycheck deductions) and/or Medicare, out-of-pocket expenses, and Medicare taxes for yourself and your family, if applicable? And how much more would you be willing to pay to exchange your current plan for some kind of Medicare for All plan?
You can be as detailed as you wish (or course), but please indicate how many people are in your family and your approximate household income. I will use my own situation as an example:
Couple, ages 66 and 63. Household income slightly more than $100k.
Insurance Premiums: $6,480*
Out of Pocket Expenses: $1,175
Medicare Tax: $1,690
TOTAL: $9.345 (About $800 per month)
Generally speaking, my husband's insurance (though his employer, which pays for most of it) has a $25 co-pay for doctor visits and prescriptions, and a $5,000 yearly deductible for major surgeries or very expensive treatments, with everything over that paid 100%; and my Medicare Plan B and Supplement Plan G pays for everything after a $175 yearly deductible.
And because the above suits us just fine, we don't want to change it or pay any more for the same kind of coverage.
*This includes my husband's share of his partially employer-paid insurance and what I pay for Medicare Plan B and Supplement Plan G.
P.S. On Edit: And to emphasize, I am only talking about what you pay out of your own bank account or have deducted from your paychecks! (Yes, I do realize that the Federal government and many employers do pay for a large part of it.)
Pretty sure I already replied to this thread, but as I see it resurface, it occurs to me that the premise is wrong. I think the question really should be "how much less can we pay to get equal or better quality healthcare?"
I know a lot of the Right-leaning posters on here think it's worth their while to pay a lot more in total, just so they can avoid paying any amount in taxes, but the indisputable fact is that the USA pays far more than any developed country PER CAPITA on healtcare, and we get less quality care. These facts come, not from anecdotal cases of ficticous people who died waiting for an asperin, but by stats accross millions, if not BILLIONS of people.
That being said, I do agree with the Righties on one thing: Once we get universal healtcare, and after our costs are reduced, if a person wants to buy additional insurance on the private market, they should not be limited from doing so. They don't get a voucher or a tax break, but they can spend their money as they please.
We have a few more years before we qualify for medicare. Until then, we pay what we have to pay for bare bones coverage with a large deductible. going uncovered is irresponsible and unwise even though we are both healthy. knock wood.
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