Same thing applies with minor procedures in offices and free-standing imaging centers. The prices are one third to one quarter of the hospital cash price. The hospital culture slavishly promotes the regulatory regime and uses regulation and the regulators to kill their competition. That’s why so many of these corporatist administrators are so excited about 0-care, ACOs and the exchanges.
“Same thing applies with minor procedures in offices and free-standing imaging centers. The prices are one third to one quarter of the hospital cash price.”
That is probably about right. I don’t know what the collection rate at the hospitals is, but I do know that emergency ambulance collection rates are about 1/3 if you are lucky.
So you have to pay for your treatment/ride and for 2 or three who just throw the bill in the trash.
Apparently the freestanding places do not treat you unless you pay. What a novel concept.