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College textbook isn't the biggest scam in America, healthcare is.
Posted on 1/6/15 at 12:19 pm
Posted on 1/6/15 at 12:19 pm
2
Posted on 1/6/15 at 12:30 pm to Phat Phil
Some excerpts would be nice.
Posted on 1/6/15 at 12:38 pm to UMTigerRebel
The chargemaster hospitals use for billing is wildly inconsistent between hospitals for the same goods and services and those prices are all severely out of whack to what you'd pay for a lot of this stuff at a pharmacy.
That's the skinny of the first part.
That's the skinny of the first part.
Posted on 1/6/15 at 12:45 pm to Phat Phil
The Time magazine article linked in your link is absolutely mind boggling and eye opening. If you can read that article and NOT think the healthcare system in this country is not in need of major overhaul, you are clueless.
The scariest part is there is no slowdown in the large hospitals buying up smaller healthcare facilities and putting their name on it, thus shrinking competition in the markets. My uncle has his own family practice and is approached several times a year by the big hospitals in his area wanting to buy him out. He's not hurting for money, enjoys his work, and they refuse to allow him to stay and run the facility how he wants, so he always tells them to get lost.
The scariest part is there is no slowdown in the large hospitals buying up smaller healthcare facilities and putting their name on it, thus shrinking competition in the markets. My uncle has his own family practice and is approached several times a year by the big hospitals in his area wanting to buy him out. He's not hurting for money, enjoys his work, and they refuse to allow him to stay and run the facility how he wants, so he always tells them to get lost.
Posted on 1/6/15 at 12:46 pm to Duke
Transparent pricing would be a great first step in driving down healthcare costs.
Posted on 1/6/15 at 12:54 pm to the808bass
quote:
Transparent pricing would be a great first step in driving down healthcare costs.
The quickest way to over-inflate prices for a service/good is to separate the act of payment completely from the service rendered. Or something. You get the drift.
Posted on 1/6/15 at 12:57 pm to the808bass
quote:
Transparent pricing would be a great first step in driving down healthcare costs.
Completely agree.
Posted on 1/6/15 at 12:58 pm to the808bass
quote:
Transparent pricing would be a great first step in driving down healthcare costs.
Yeah, that would have been nice when my FIL was in the ICU for over 2 months. That was over a $1 million medical bill. Luckily insurance covered most of it.
But upon release, he still had a feeding tube and was in need of a hospital bed, and insurance would not cover that cost. The going rate for a hospital bed rental was $250/week. They negotiated it down to $75/week though. But really, $1000/month for a bed?
Posted on 1/6/15 at 1:09 pm to UMTigerRebel
What was the most jarring was the % of operating revenue that was devoted to 'charity cases'. I.e, the 'massive amounts of poor people using the emergency room and not paying' that we are always told is the reason why the rest of us have to pay the high costs. If not, the hospitals just won't be able to stay afloat. Even using their inflated chargemaster costs, it wasn't more than 4% of the PROFIT.
Posted on 1/6/15 at 3:11 pm to UMTigerRebel
What is ridiculous is that a home health or hospice company gets that bed for dollars a day. And because you don't have purchasing power or knowledge, you're stuck with $75/day even after negotiating.
My FIL was without insurance and had a cath. He was bragging so hard about negotiating it down to $50k that I didn't have the heart to tell him the case rate was more like 25% of that.
My FIL was without insurance and had a cath. He was bragging so hard about negotiating it down to $50k that I didn't have the heart to tell him the case rate was more like 25% of that.
Posted on 1/6/15 at 3:12 pm to cokebottleag
quote:
Even using their inflated chargemaster costs, it wasn't more than 4% of the PROFIT.
Correct. The inflation is for the underinsured. Not the uninsured. And for the profit margin.
Eta: there's no big savings there for Obamacare like we were presented.
This post was edited on 1/6/15 at 3:13 pm
Posted on 1/6/15 at 3:31 pm to the808bass
quote:
Transparent pricing would be a great first step in driving down healthcare costs.
Yup.
Posted on 1/6/15 at 3:43 pm to TbirdSpur2010
I see it like this: if we're going to make healthcare function like a market, then it needs to be worked to function more like a market. Having prices available like every other good and service would be a good start.
Sure I like to hate on Republicans, but this is certainly an arena they have the best and only decent ideas. Look forward to hearing the replace policies in the next two years.
Sure I like to hate on Republicans, but this is certainly an arena they have the best and only decent ideas. Look forward to hearing the replace policies in the next two years.
Posted on 1/6/15 at 3:48 pm to the808bass
quote:
Transparent pricing would be a great first step in driving down healthcare costs.
They don't want you to know because they want to keep the cost as high as possible. There is no incentive for lowering the price down for both hospitals and insurance companies.
Posted on 1/6/15 at 3:50 pm to Duke
The hospitals business models are set up around a lack of transparency. They focus on networks and systems. You see a Mercy doctor, you go to a Mercy lab and get admitted to a Mercy hospital. And their acquisition calculations were based on that ROI.
Add in that insurance companies are content to operate with these inefficiencies because it drives total revenue. No bueno.
Add in that insurance companies are content to operate with these inefficiencies because it drives total revenue. No bueno.
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