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But How Much Does It Cost?
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We read a great article recently that speaks to what we have been saying for years - One of the biggest problems with health care today is that the consumer of health care has no idea what the cost of care really is. Here is an excerpt... "The American health-care consumer, quaking in his paper hospital slippers, no longer even asks: "What does this procedure cost?" He only asks: "Does my insurance cover it?" No prices, no negotiation, no mystical coordination between producer and consumer - instead, maddening and expensive and often underhanded mediation by the insurer.Medicine is complicated; computers are complicated, too, but you can call Dell or Apple or Best Buy or whomever and ask: "What does this sort of computer cost?" and you will receive an answer. And then, when you get to the store - miracle of miracles! - that will be the price. Computers are damned complicated to make, with programmers in the United States and India collaborating with Taiwanese microchip fabricators, Dutch LED manufacturers, Irish customer-support agents, etc. You can get a price on an iMac, but you can't get a price quote on an ingrown toenail." You can read the rest of the article here. |
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And The Pricing Makes No Sense
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We
have always understood that there was quite a big spread between the
'list price' the hospital bills and the 'wholesale price' paid by
insurance carriers. What amazes us (and everyone to whom we talk) is
the WIDE differences between the list price and the wholesale price.
We have often heard of people who
have 'negotiated' their own deal with certain providers. This is often
followed by, "that is why I don't need health insurance." One person bragged about how they had a procedure done and when the got the bill they called the hospital and negotiated a 50% discount if they paid within 10 days. They were pretty proud of themselves. Good deal? Maybe. Maybe not. The problem is there is no transparency - until AFTER the fact - maybe. If you call that tranparency.
Here is a real life example where 50% off was no deal at all:
We worked with a client last year with a claim issue pertaining to an OUTPATIENT surgical procedure. surgical procedure. The client's bill from hospital was over $18,000. What do you think the negotiated price with the carrier was? Guess. No, lower. Guess again. Still lower. The answer is at the bottom of the email. The point we are trying to make is that there is NO logic or transparency in the pricing of health care. (And until there is, no amount of government interference will fix it.)
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We have talked about this before, but Americans need to be smart about when and where we go for medical care. We all know that hospital emergency rooms (ER) are not effective or efficient for non-emergency situations. However a recent study by the National Center for Policy Analysis found that often " the ER is the only way to reach a physician after hours. As a result, patients overuse emergency rooms: Of the 119 million visits to hospital ERs in a given year, 55% are for nonemergencies. A 2006 survey of California hospitals found that nearly half of ER patients (46%) thought they could have resolved their medical problem with a visit to their primary care physician, but were unable to obtain timely access." Market-based solution: Urgent-care clinics and the newer retail clinics that are starting to appear in drug stores and big-box retailers. |
Retail lab testing is one of the newest areas of market-based solutions to the cost of health care. They are billed as "a health care lab testing facility that provides medical lab tests to consumers and employers in a professional, convenient and cost-effective way." They typically offer transparent pricing and the following advantages: - No Insurance Needed.
- Doctor's Order Provided.
- No Appointment Necessary.
- Confidential and Anonymous.
- Most Results in 24-48 Hours.
We acknowledge there are limits to which non-medical professionals should be analyzing certain test results. But certainly there are many 'routine' tests that if taken correctly, the results can be used effectively by non-medical professionals. They could also be used to start a conversation with your physician about the need for further testing and treatment - that you otherwise would not have gotten because of the 'hassle-factor? |
 If you are regular reader, you have probably figured out that I am easily amused. Remember the bouncing jello? Well, now we are speeding things up - not slowing them down.
Here is a time lapse video of scenes from Vancouver, site of next month's Winter Olympics. I particularly like the scenes showing the clouds/fog moving in. I hope you enjoy it!
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