Hippa

[somarco]

insurance companies negotiate with doctors, hospital and that information is kept top secret.

To paraphrase an old saw, does Macy's tell Gimbel's what they pay for their merchandise?

Negotiated pricing is a trade secret.

Consumers are idiots when it comes to shopping for insurance. I fail to see how they will fare any better if and when price transparency becomes fact.

 

[johnrocks]

I wish doctors,hospitals and the entire health profession would have to advertise in the newspapers just like the grocers, car dealers, sears,Macy's and all the rest does. Until the public and the politicians start laying the blame where blame needs to be laid, we will always have a problem or worse yet have some sort of socialization of our healthcare become a reality.

 

[somarco]

You mean like the $49.95 paint jobs for your car? Or the $79.95 both axle brake jobs? And how about the 3 carpeted rooms cleaned for $29.95?

All great deals until you get the bill and find out the $49.95 paint job doesn't include taping, the $79.95 brake job does not include turning the rotors or bleeding the system and the 3 rooms are picked by the carpet cleaner and include closets & hallways.

Consumers are idiots in things other than health care. That's why the auto & carpet folks keep running those ads and consumers keep crying they are being ripped off.

 

[johnrocks]

Look I know about the ads that you are referring to and I agree that consumers are idiots when it comes to healthcare, all I am saying is those idiots are being played by the likes of Hillary ,Obama and the others in believing that the way to cure spiraling healthcare costs is through more government control. I happen to believe in the free enterprise system, the fewer government controls the better. The ads would at least be a guiding point to go by, it's a lot better than calling a carpet cleaning service and not even having a clue to what it is going to cost and then get a bill for five grand!! That's how our healthcare system is set up.. The same was said a few years ago about attorneys not advertising but guess what, when they were allowed to start advertising, costs for simple wills, divorces, probates and the like actually went down and then stabalized!! I know this to be fact here in Louisiana at least.

 

[somarco]

Maybe it's time to break out the Harry & Louise (not to be confused with Thelma & Louise) commercials. They helped to kill Hillary care the first time, could be a repeat.

States such as MA, CA and a few others are on the fringe of trying to provide health care for all and are quickly dumping in their mess kit. MA has discovered the affordable plan they wanted actually costs almost double what they had budgeted (and folks like Mitt Romney promised). Guess how they are handling the political crisis?

By considering implementing some aspects of the plan at a later date and allowing the carriers to gut the policy in order to get the premiums in line with the earlier estimates.

Kind of like mandating a car that gets 60 MPG and then allowing the manufacturers more time and the ability to limit total passenger wt to 150 lbs and 0 - 60 in 180 seconds.

Did I mention politicians, especially those who want to dabble in health care, are idiots?

 

[johnrocks]

John Stossel; one of my favorite reporters; did a story on fact or fiction a few months ago and I remember him talking to an economist who said if you really wanted costs to go down, all they would have to do is pass one law, to make everyone purchase health insurance. One of the biggest reasons that insurance costs are going up is because there are a lot more fat, smoking, high risk (like me) people getting insurance than there are low risk people. In other words the 20 year olds who think there invinceable don't want to pay a hundred bucks a month for something they don't think they will need but the person who had a heart attack 5 years ago or the 350 lb. "toothless wonders" of the world will jump through hoops to keep theirs.

Think about it, if the majority of drivers who carry full coverage ins. had on the average three DWI's and two wrecks in the past 5 years, do you think your car ins. would be higher or lower?

 

[James]

http://www.phukethospital.com/

Sooner or later we have to address Price Transparency and the AMA. While such places are a fraction of the cost of an American Hospital and lets face it, most American Hospitals don't have that Resort feel to it! Plus most of these Dr's are American Trained in the finest Univerities and Colleges of our great system. Have a friend down in the NO area that needs elective surgery, her insurance won't pay for it. She is an RN, now she did the comparison with a Brazil type of resort hospital and even with the cost of travel the Resort Hospital comes in at nearly half the price! Plus there expertise matches up with any hospital in the US, of course these hospitals cater to the foriegner with money and they seem to be sprouting up in more and more nations and actually now opening up clinics in the US, England and other countries to do follow up care.

 

[J.R.]

To paraphrase an old saw, does Macy's tell Gimbel's what they pay for their merchandise?

I don't shop at Macy's and have no idea who Gimbel's is, unless you are talking about the candy company, but I do see where you are coming from.

I am not talking about what hospitals pay for their equipment. have a few close people I know that are high up in the hospital system both in MD and CT. They were kind enough to let me know some of the costs associated with their equipment and treatment, but most of that can easily be found on google. Consumers do not have to know what the equipment cost, but they should know what is going to be charged before hand (this gets more complicated regarding emergencies). Strictly knowing the limits of the their plan is a good place to start, but it leads much to be desired.

Case in point, Mr. Smith needs to have surgery and will require a primary surgeon and an assistant surgeon, with a few days of inpatient and outpatient care, followed by some treatment at home for a week. The old age way of doing this is get authorization for the procedure, have the surgery and any post-up care, insurance foots the bills with the hospital and the client is left with his costs. Here is the kicker, say the surgeon charged $10,000 for his services, while the assistant surgeon charged $5,000 for his services and the patient needed $4000 in DBE for their home. Insurance company said fine and sent a bill to the client. If this person does not have a knowledgeable agent or knows the limitations of his plans, what would happen just using those figures with a GR plan????

Consumers are idiots when it comes to shopping for insurance. I fail to see how they will fare any better if and when price transparency becomes fact.

Because it would make the consumers more aware of what they are paying and/or the benefits they receive w/out dealing with the BS of greed on either side.

Because it is tug and war between hospitals and insurance companies. The hospitals of course want to get the person in and out and quickly as possible, while the insurance carrier says what should or should not be allowed, and the patient wants to make sure he gets everything he needs but does not know what is covered and will be paid versus what is recommended. What do you suggest happens?

 

[James]

Than you have the niceities of bundling or unbundling of services. Forget your Surgeon and Assistance, more then likely the Anesthesiologist may very well make more than the surgeon. I had to go to the Oral Surgeon not that long ago, during the initial consultation he gave me a itemize bill of the cost, it was correct except for an additional charge of $50 for unexpected cost. Now I never had a Medical Dr. or Med. Facility do that for me, why?

 

[Guest]

"I had to go to the Oral Surgeon not that long ago, during the initial consultation he gave me a itemize bill of the cost,...

Come to think of it, I had this same experience, an itemized bill from the oral surgeon in advance. I guess that since the surgeon knows there is no such thing as true dental "insurance" that will pay anywhere near the cost, they don't mind, and probably prefer, to have you know in advance how much you're going to have to cough up.