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 ...
Full retail price?, cash price?, medicare price?, medicaid price?, insurance company #1 negotiated contract price?, insurance company #2 price?, insurance company #3 price?, etc, etc.. Dumb idea, how many people are paying cash or care what the full price is? Most people only care about their co-pay or deductible. Full time employee to keep the multiple hundreds of pages price list updated? Increased medical costs for everyone.
bump
BINGO!...but the price of a gallon varies between gas stations!!.....(and to quote you) >>> That’s called FREE MARKET.
>>>....are you asking for socialized medical care to be the law of the land? <<<
NO!....lol...and what the hell are you smoking?......Where did you come up with that question?....
I'm asking what is the price of an MRI at any particular clinic or hospital !!...Do you think that's socialism???
What stand alone MRI clinic or hospital won’t already give you freely and gladly the cost of an MRI? Routine procedure.
You can get your out of pocket...or cash price at ANY facility.
“” 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!
Do you get it now???
That was the fee at the Costco optometrist here around fifteen years ago. I went once and he didn't charge me extra for the retinal examination.
Now a refraction plus dilation and several optical tests brings about $350 at a full-service optometrist.
I get that you should call ahead to see what the prices are… What part of it don’t you get?
Ummmm - the huge disparity will become evident very soon - and it will also become clear that insurance companies use the overblown prices (which they don’t pay because the “game” is that the patient sees that they didn’t have to pay $25,000 and it never occurs to them that the $750 the insurance paid is what the real fair price is) so they can up the rates and deductibles...the hospitals don’t gouge the insurance companies - they’re in cahoots with them.
Well my 2020 rates increased by 17%.
No thanks to the Democrat scumbags, I’m now paying $19k annually with a $9k deductible.
I get my refraction from my Optometrist, I go to Walmart and buy a pair of frames at a fraction of the cost the Optometrist charges. Have to sign a waiver, but it is worth it. $20 pair of nice frames vs $500. Lens are $350 with no coatings as I wear no line bifocals. but all else from the Ophthalmologist and it is expensive, because I’ve had cataract and Lasix, I tend to develop dry spots on the Cornea. The first Cataract removal was a disaster, he left the cornea like a football and put in the wrong lens. 2nd one different surgeon and it went well. But the differences in the 2 eyes created a misconnect in the brain and I saw print as TINY. So ended up with Lasix to fix that.And no Tricare doesn’t cover that, just the Cataract removal.
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