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 ...
“Transparent pricing is an important component of capitalism — period.”
On target. Consumers knowing prices creates competition. These quacks and hospitals have no trouble sending out exact bills for their services. They know exactly what they will charge.
Plan F & C will no longer be offered in 2020 . Those who have it will be able to keep it
Amen... and yeah there are some Republicans running hospitals, but most of the scamming goes back to corrupt democrat 'lawmakers' on the take. They wrote the laws that allow the medical rip-offs we deal with...
Sounds almost identical to my trip a few weeks ago, except I had a CT scan instead of an x-ray, which is more expensive. My total bill was $10,443. Go figure.
Sounds like a search for an excuse instead of a reason not to post the “Standard” price. Insurance companies could negotiate as they are able and reflect the result in their prices of coverage.
Competition is simple. Regulation isn’t.
At this point I will have to be comatose to be taken to a hospital. I hope I can stick by that and die right here on the farm.
I can’t say what I’ll do in my time of need or crisis. I have seen to many who swear the same thing I do and beg to be saved by any means.
Same way they force the survivors to pay when the treatments fail and the relative dies.
That's really the point.
This is useful to the 14% of Americans who don't have health insurance and can't negotiate a better cash price. Of course, as a practical matter the odds of this population being able to pay is pretty small.
For the other 86% of us the standard price will be meaningless because our cost will be governed by our insurer's negotiated contract.
I'm not arguing against transparency, just pointing out that this is a pretty empty gesture.
I was in a urgent care clinic a few months a few months back. They had a menu board that listed the prices for most of the services and tests they performed,
Because unlike at supermarkets or gas stations almost no one pays the "standard" price - their insurance company pays whatever rate they've negotiated with the hospital.
Notice that the EO doesn't require insurance companies to post the rates they've negotiated with the providers.
I care what my insurance company pays. I’d expect them to negotiate a % of list and I would know from there. People should be aware of what this all costs since so many with insurance think it is all but free and I’m not so sure they don’t think it is all free somehow.
Sure, because that's what drives their premiums.
Problem is they're going to consider that proprietary information because they don't want the other insurers to know what kind of deal they got. Neither does the hospital, BTW.
Exactly! The next step is to require all billing to be completed upon discharge. It’s ridiculous to get hospital bills a year or more after treatment. By that point it’s impossible to remember what was done and contest a bill. I think that a coherent patient should be told what every procedure and pill should cost, and what every doctor who steps in the room will be charging, with rights to refuse service. And a full and final bill should be provided upon discharge.
You are also under duress at the time of signing those contracts.
Further every hospital admits they charge people with insurance 4-5 times what they use actually coats, because they are using youto pay for others who paid nothing.
Imagine any other business doing that.
Screw the damn insurance companies.
What’s the cost in materials and labor to set a broken arm? The procedure is done a million times each year. There’s your baseline average price. Publish it. Hospitals can charge more or less. It allows consumers to compare prices between hospital A and hospital B. Competition is good for consumers.
Other businesses write off bad debt/shoplifting, etc. all the time (& consequently charge more for their product/service). “No pays” at the ER are a cost of doing business for hospitals due to government mandated treatment at the ER.
Perfect. I turn 65 late next year just in time to miss out on something I was hoping for after paying 20 grand a year for the last several years.
The price they pay is reflected in the premiums as well as the copay portion you pay.
“Price lists are not really fesable for hospitals. there are just too many variables.
There can be prices for some seervices but not for all.”
From what I understand. There are other countries that list there prices and have no problems doing so. I have always thought it was wrong that hospitals can charge whatever they want, and the bills from third parties keep coming almost forever.
I remember when you could go to the emergency room and get one bill. Maybe a second for an x-ray. You pay it, and that was it. It is not like that anymore.
My son spent a few days in the hospital two years ago and had long term regular care afterward. The bills were insane. There were thousands of dollars in “accidents” They even tried to bill me for an appointment I supposedly had with a pediatric gastroenterologist. (I met the guy in an elevator with my son’s actual doctor.)
The bills started to clear up when I threatened to start billing them $200 an hour for forensic accounting services.
My wife holds an accounting degree. I can’t imagine how people who don’t can navigate the billing morass.
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