Posted on 06/24/2019 1:47:37 PM PDT by buckalfa
President Trump on Monday signed an executive order demanding the upfront disclosure by hospitals of the actual prices for common tests and procedures.
Trump's order also requires that patients be told ahead of time what their out-of-pocket costs like deductibles and copays will be for many procedures.
“This landmark initiative continues our work to put American patients first,” Trump said at the White House. “We are fundamentally changing the nature of the health care marketplace.”
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
And IIRC, rural hospitals get to charge more. So there’s that to figure into the mix, too.
Every get on a plane and ask folks what they paid. Over 2 to 3 times range. Cruise ships are the same. No two people pay the same, its who they know and the tricks employed in booking.
Bravo!
Have you ever asked how much a test would cost? I have. Blank stares.
AMA fascism.
They don’t know or won’t tell you.
And then there are the “trial bills”.
Unless you contest them, they will ruin your credit rating. Eff them! :)
They wear you down when you are least able to defend yourself.
They know what they are doing.
AMA mafia.
In the same exact boat. Knowing is critical even paring down the accessories in the room.
Disagree. Would not *only* benefit the uninsured.
Doesn’t require more bureaucrats & bureaucrats shouldn’t be determining prices anyway.
Gives consumers opportunity to protest high costs & overrule the bureaucrats.
It only requires the provider to post itemized costs *before* purchase, like menu items in a restaurant, giving the consumer the choice to accept or reject.
Forces providers to compete.
Also, consumers can note changes in costs & better detect fishy billing, saving $$ for taxpayers.
Requires alert consumers, though.
I was using a walk-in clinic, paying cash for all visits & lab tests, with itemized billing.
Soon as I went on Medicare, the cost of basic office visit went from $100 to $190, almost double!
Each lab test jumped, too.
Why?
Because they could. “The government” is the deep pockets.
I raised heck about it. Most people don’t.
My bill was adjusted.
Don’t go to hospitals. Die first. You’d be better off, probably. Eat well, take your chances.
Bulls and Bears, w/DAvid Asman, on FoxBiz, was supposed to be doing a program segment on all of this, on their show, tonight. Where they reviewed POTUS’ EO, Medicare and Medicaid news, etc.
Medicare reimburses 15% on average...so your medical clinic gets about $29. of the $190. charge. That is why they increased the charge from $100. to $190.. So they could get closer to the $100. cash you used to pay.
The US system is remarkably rule-ridden, legal-risk driven, and corrupt. The costs of actual delivery of medical services are through the roof compared to anywhere else on earth.
In some ways the US medical system is more “socialist” than many others, in that many interests have leveraged governments to create opportunities for those in favorable positions to tap it, and escalate costs of course. Or, better put, its a state-driven corrupt system befitting a banana republic.
To compare, I have been shopping for Spanish private medical insurance. They have that there, for those who prefer private to avoid the waits of the public system or people who do not qualify, such as retirees with incomes from abroad. For a retirement age couple, private free market “gold plated” coverage is under $300/mo.
Spoken like a true medical insider.
Protect, protect, protect.
Transparent pricing is an important component of capitalism — period.
But every one of those people knew in advance exactly how much they’d pay before they bought their tickets. It’s not like they boarded a plane in New York and only learned the price of the ticket AFTER they landed in Los Angeles.
The irony is that many who want transparency also think more insurance competition is a key to reduced costs.
If the hospital charges every insurer the same then the insurers have no way to differentiate themselves and maybe offer lower rates.
But if you have 10 insurers, each negotiating a different price with the hospital, which one should be posted as the "transparent" price?
“Knowing is critical even paring down the accessories in the room.“
Yes. Imagine if most insured healthcare consumers became cost conscious and cost reducing...
This is big. Hospitals overcharge those without insurance so they can write of huge ‘losses’.
It’s unfair to the country, to the poor and to taxpayers.
Trump’s amazing.
Since I live in NJ, it was an "out of network" Operation.
This was back when Insurance was good, before the Moron from Kenya, eff'ed it up.
It was an all in the same day surgery, Pre-op testing to the actual repair.
I was speaking to the Doctor about the unique way of doing it.
He explained that the Amish ride in at dawn with cash and need to go back home at the end of the day.
Bottom Line was $4000, if you pay cash for everything.
I paid $250 for the out of network Deductible & the Hospital billed the Insurance Company $17,400
What they settled for was $4700
What it would be know under the current mess, is anybody's guess!
“They’ll just put out list prices that are five to six times as high as what they’ll actually get.”
That wouldn’t work with stations selling gas or grocers selling bread. Why do you think it would work for hospitals? Public pricing of a medical service would bring down the cost as hospitals compete for patients.
“Price lists are not really fesable for hospitals. there are just too many variables.”
Horse-hockey! Those same hospitals sure as hell know how to write up a cost and give out precise bills to patients.
Overcharging to the PIP auto insurance pool which makes us (Michigan) the highest Auto Insurance rates in the Nation by certain hospitals ( charging 5k for a $400 MRI ) is the kinda chit that has got to stop. And don't think some of these hospitals, insurance companies etc are "R" voters, and don't think they haven't paid and played both sides of the Swamp in Lansing.
We have waited all our lives for President Donald J Trump, thank you God...
The government-medical-pharma-legal complex is deep, handles 17% of our economy, is highly unionized, employs leagues of lawyers and is chock full of waste and fraud.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.