I would to tell you my situation, then you could comment on it.
Several years ago I had to have an umbilical hernia (I was an adult) repaired. I did not have health insurance of any kind and so paid cash for everything.
So, in my state, no specialist or surgeon will see you unless you first get a referral from a GP or family care practice....
It was obviously something that required surgery, since there was this soft fleshy bit poking in from the side of my navel; I had already diagnosed myself before I was able to get to my GP. I go in, tell him I think I have a UH, he pokes and prods for a few minutes ... yes, he agrees. ** Bill: about $140 (first time visit adds about $75 over a regular visit).**
Surgeon's visit - I pay one price, $850 or so, for all consult and the surgery itself. Note that the surgeon is the guy who is most responsible for the patient outcome in all this! I think I visited him 1 or 2 times prior and 1 time after surgery.
I have a prescription for an abdominal CT scan. I call around - the 2 hospitals in the area want between $2750 and $4000 including interpretation.
I remember an outpatient imaging place that my wife used a while back for an MRI - we call them, and find out that one of the above hospitals, BOUGHT THEM OUT AND THEN SHUT THEM DOWN - why did they do that, doesn't make sense or does it???...
But, they have 1 independant place that the hospital did not buy, still running in a depressed area 3 hours' drive away. Their price? "Well if you pay on the day of service with cash or credit card, the price is $264."
It gets better - the owner of this imaging clinic, who sold off the other branches to the big hospital? He is the Head of Radiology Deparment at a well-respected hospital about 1 hour away. So the hospitals bought him out, only because he was undercutting their prices!
CT scan in hand, surgeon ready to go ... I check out surgery prices at the places the surgeon has privileges at...
Hospital 1 - flat fee, about $3500
Hospital 2 - won't give me a price over the phone - because they charge by the minute! And it will matter if the OR is used for 45 or 55 minutes as to the price ... note how stupid this is, because ORs are not utilized anything near 8 or 12 hours a day, continuously
**
Shiny-new Surgical Center, cleaner, less hectic, nicer nurses, etc. - $1800, but, "oh, if you pay cash or credit card on the day, the price is $1200"**
Anesthesia - $660 (note: almost as much as the surgeon, just for a nurse anesthetist!)
Add up the difference between what I paid cash for and what the "retail price" was ... to me, the shocking 10X difference in abdominal CT scan makes you wonder, "what exactly, is a fair price for CT scans?"
ComradeCynic258 karma
I would to tell you my situation, then you could comment on it.
Several years ago I had to have an umbilical hernia (I was an adult) repaired. I did not have health insurance of any kind and so paid cash for everything.
So, in my state, no specialist or surgeon will see you unless you first get a referral from a GP or family care practice....
It was obviously something that required surgery, since there was this soft fleshy bit poking in from the side of my navel; I had already diagnosed myself before I was able to get to my GP. I go in, tell him I think I have a UH, he pokes and prods for a few minutes ... yes, he agrees. ** Bill: about $140 (first time visit adds about $75 over a regular visit).**
Surgeon's visit - I pay one price, $850 or so, for all consult and the surgery itself. Note that the surgeon is the guy who is most responsible for the patient outcome in all this! I think I visited him 1 or 2 times prior and 1 time after surgery.
I have a prescription for an abdominal CT scan. I call around - the 2 hospitals in the area want between $2750 and $4000 including interpretation.
I remember an outpatient imaging place that my wife used a while back for an MRI - we call them, and find out that one of the above hospitals, BOUGHT THEM OUT AND THEN SHUT THEM DOWN - why did they do that, doesn't make sense or does it???...
But, they have 1 independant place that the hospital did not buy, still running in a depressed area 3 hours' drive away. Their price? "Well if you pay on the day of service with cash or credit card, the price is $264."
It gets better - the owner of this imaging clinic, who sold off the other branches to the big hospital? He is the Head of Radiology Deparment at a well-respected hospital about 1 hour away. So the hospitals bought him out, only because he was undercutting their prices!
CT scan in hand, surgeon ready to go ... I check out surgery prices at the places the surgeon has privileges at...
Hospital 1 - flat fee, about $3500 Hospital 2 - won't give me a price over the phone - because they charge by the minute! And it will matter if the OR is used for 45 or 55 minutes as to the price ... note how stupid this is, because ORs are not utilized anything near 8 or 12 hours a day, continuously
** Shiny-new Surgical Center, cleaner, less hectic, nicer nurses, etc. - $1800, but, "oh, if you pay cash or credit card on the day, the price is $1200"**
Anesthesia - $660 (note: almost as much as the surgeon, just for a nurse anesthetist!)
Add up the difference between what I paid cash for and what the "retail price" was ... to me, the shocking 10X difference in abdominal CT scan makes you wonder, "what exactly, is a fair price for CT scans?"
I welcome your comments on any part of this.
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