Posted on 11/16/2019 8:57:40 AM PST by Hojczyk
On my Sunday TV program Full Measure, I’ve done quite a bit of reporting on the capricious cost of medical services at hospitals and how hard it is to get pricing upfront.
President Trump just instituted a new rule requiring hospitals to make that information available.
This could be a game changer.
As I reported the prices hospitals charge vary widely and often do not seem to correlate to anything in particular. Insurance and private payers may be radically overcharged.
From my story comparing prices:
One hospital in the Los Angeles area charged $400 for the knee MRI. But a hospital in smaller Des Moines, Iowa quoted $3,500 ($3,536). That’s eight and a half times as much for the exact same procedure.
Similar dramatic ranges are found within the same region. In Orlando, one hospital charged as little as $877 total. Another charged close to $2,000 ($1,980) and didn’t even include the fee to read the MRI.
Hospitals in Los Angeles charged from $400 to $2,800 ($2,850).
Raleigh-Durham: about a $1,000 ($1,023) to $2,700 ($2,775).
Des Moines also from about $1,000 ($1,071) to $3,500 ($3,536).
Dallas and Fort Worth: $500 ($508) to $4,200 ($4,274).
And the biggest disparity was in the New York City area. The cheapest knee MRI was about $440. Another hospital in the area the most expensive in the survey charged $4,500!
Under President Trump’s new rules, patients will be able to get this information upfront.
According to CNBC, “Hospitals will now be required to post their standard charges for services, which include gross charges, the negotiated rates with insurers and the discounted price a hospital is willing to accept from a patient.”
(Excerpt) Read more at sharylattkisson.com ...
Nah, go to canaDUH instead. LOL! I believe you need to schedule your heart attacks so you can be fit in to the queue.
Can’t be that good. I haven’t heard democrat lobbyists screeching about it
“Having hospitals display their prices… is simply an exercise in futility. And a very silly idea.”
I have to ask what evidence do you have to back that claim up, are you going to cite the insanely inflationary medical costs that we have to live with as a reason not to do it?
When I go to a restaurant I am handed a bill of fare.
Before I get on a plane, I obtain a bill of fare.
When I buy insurance (various) I get a bill of fare.
Hospital services should be no different.
5.56mm
lol....its EXACTLY apples to apples!
Did you read the article???????????
Would you mind if my MRI costs me $400 and yours cost $4500 in the same hospital?
a simple Yes or No answer will be suffice...
“”And if you are in need of critical care what are you going to do with that info? “”
People replying here are missing the point. If you are admitted to a hospital through an emergency room, no one is CHECKING IN at the hospital. All well and good for elective procedures (surgeries) or tests but otherwise, I ask the same question - “what are you going to do with the info?”
Most of the tests, exams and even surgeries are not emergencies. I would like to go online and see how much a simple eye exam would cost, or how about the lab work. I may go with my regular eye doctor but at least I can see the difference in his rates in comparison to the other eye doctors in my area.
Were is the GOP Senate on health care reform....no where...
Probably collecting lots of bribe money from the Big Hospitals to overturn this.
“President Trump just instituted a new rule requiring hospitals to make that information available.”
What’s the rule?
Thus article us all empty polemic devoid of any information.
Author is a nutcase, too.
M-cubed wrote:
Not exactly apples to Apples is it… ?? <<<
lol....its EXACTLY apples to apples!
Did you read the article???????????
Would you mind if my MRI costs me $400 and yours cost $4500 in the same hospital?
a simple Yes or No answer will be suffice...
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Funny. What are the comparative cost in your area? Just as gas cost more in one area ....so does health care. That’s called FREE MARKET.
....are you asking for socialized medical care to be the law of the land?
P.S. no more coffee for you today....:)
This is the President who is doing nothing for Americans, so the dim/socialists say. Sheesh, I’ve been waiting on upfront med pricing for years. Wanna bet the AMA or someone else files some bogus lawsuit?
Most of politicians and media and celebrities, etc are part of the health care racket. IMO
Only “the workers” are not invited to join the money maker (health care racket). IMO
We must make sure that “they” do not change back once President Trump is out of office
I wonder, how did he do this? ....via EO??
Actually, the "procedures" (tests) are exact science. You were probably thinking of diagnosis that may require more tests. That is also built on years of medical science, but is still subject to any given doctor's interpretation of such tests. That's why the axiom, "get a second opinion" still has weight.
“Makes me happy that I cannot have an MRI.”
Neither can I, due to metal in my hip.
Bkmk
A Navy Vet wrote:
“Medical procedures are not exact science…”
Actually, the “procedures” (tests) are exact science. You were probably thinking of diagnosis that may require more tests. That is also built on years of medical science, but is still subject to any given doctor’s interpretation of such tests. That’s why the axiom, “get a second opinion” still has weight.
________________________
Was ‘referring also’ to...Yes...and Yes...:)
I agree. However you see the cost for gas on the sign, you don't see it for other than emergency care at a hospital or urgent clinic.
And as you walk in the door, Walmart makes you sign a paper giving them a lot of discretion over what you buy, and also a promise to pay.
Refer Back to the inexact science of medical diagnosis and treatment post.
In the hospital they test your blood everyday.i have no history or symptoms for diabetes but while in the hospital they tested me for diabetes every morning for a month. I bet that wasn’t cheap.
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