J
Jonathan Smith
Guest
Ted Rosenberg <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> One of the problems of the health care system is that it
> is not even vaguely a free market.
Much depends on how you define the market - if you believe
it to be patients then you are probably right - if you
believe it to be providers and payers, it has a lot of the
attributes of an open market.
> Most health care providers will not provide prices for
> comparison shopping, and, if they do say anything, it is
> usually false. They are also not consistent.
Not when they are negotiating fees with payers.
> I helped my wife do research a few years ago for an
> article about the difficulties of health care shopping. It
> was on one simple test, most hospitals flatly refused to
> quote a cost "it's covered by your insurance" "come in,
> have the test, and THEN we will discuss payment".
>
> Two hospitals just flatly lied "we can't quote because we
> don't know how much dye the test will use for each
> individual " (NONE, the test doesn't use dye). The
> remainder quoted prices ranging from $200 to $1,800, of
> course, for insurance companies, it would be about $120
> from all of them !!!
The overwhelming majority of purchases for inpatient
services are made by payers, not patients. The transparency
in prices is at that level.
> When the article ran, she got indignant letters from
> hospitals, but fan mail from doctors. They hadn't had a
> CLUE that prices varied from place to place.
Not place to place - within place and between customer
segments.
> I am also battling a hospital at the moment, I need a
> regular blood test to adjust dosage of some meds. The
> hospital quoted me $37/visit, - fair enough price, even if
> insurance companies would only pay $25. BUT, they BILLED
> amounts ranging from $42.20 to $53.45, when asked why, I
> get a different answer every time I call (on the SAME
> bill) and they are annoyed that I won't pay them until
> they get the bill straightened. And tell me to call the
> doctor - there IS no doctor!. When I ask the
> pharmacologist at the lab, SHE says "that isn't right, you
> should call billing"
Who ordered the test? Did you get the quote in writing? Send
them a check for $37 and tell them to sue you for the rest.
You have every right to negotiate a price with any provider
for any service.
js
> One of the problems of the health care system is that it
> is not even vaguely a free market.
Much depends on how you define the market - if you believe
it to be patients then you are probably right - if you
believe it to be providers and payers, it has a lot of the
attributes of an open market.
> Most health care providers will not provide prices for
> comparison shopping, and, if they do say anything, it is
> usually false. They are also not consistent.
Not when they are negotiating fees with payers.
> I helped my wife do research a few years ago for an
> article about the difficulties of health care shopping. It
> was on one simple test, most hospitals flatly refused to
> quote a cost "it's covered by your insurance" "come in,
> have the test, and THEN we will discuss payment".
>
> Two hospitals just flatly lied "we can't quote because we
> don't know how much dye the test will use for each
> individual " (NONE, the test doesn't use dye). The
> remainder quoted prices ranging from $200 to $1,800, of
> course, for insurance companies, it would be about $120
> from all of them !!!
The overwhelming majority of purchases for inpatient
services are made by payers, not patients. The transparency
in prices is at that level.
> When the article ran, she got indignant letters from
> hospitals, but fan mail from doctors. They hadn't had a
> CLUE that prices varied from place to place.
Not place to place - within place and between customer
segments.
> I am also battling a hospital at the moment, I need a
> regular blood test to adjust dosage of some meds. The
> hospital quoted me $37/visit, - fair enough price, even if
> insurance companies would only pay $25. BUT, they BILLED
> amounts ranging from $42.20 to $53.45, when asked why, I
> get a different answer every time I call (on the SAME
> bill) and they are annoyed that I won't pay them until
> they get the bill straightened. And tell me to call the
> doctor - there IS no doctor!. When I ask the
> pharmacologist at the lab, SHE says "that isn't right, you
> should call billing"
Who ordered the test? Did you get the quote in writing? Send
them a check for $37 and tell them to sue you for the rest.
You have every right to negotiate a price with any provider
for any service.
js