[NYT] Why Hospitals and Health Insurers Didn’t Want You to See Their Prices

That can be traced back to the lack of or very minimal process of vetting out a doctor’s network status via NPI prior to rendering services. I don’t believe any of the big HIS systems like Cerner or Epic do that kind of validation process against a patient’s insurance through automation and is often left to a human to perform that work which, like the unfortunate events you faced, often gets missed.

 

lol at that pathetic fine and sending “tsk-tsk” type letters…shows u weren’t serious

 

I don’t know what you guys are complaining about

I love my freedom of choice when it comes to health care.

 

Just used my health card in Canada for the first time for my son. Aside from the fact that I didn't pay anything for the visit or his prescription, what I found most interesting is that having a single payer means that doctors don't have to affiliate with large systems. There are clinics everywhere that are one or two doctor operations that operate like small businesses. Because there is a single payer with a completely standardized pricing and reimbursement schedules, there's very little overhead when it comes to running a clinic. The clinics here are just a few rooms, one or two doctors and an administrative assistant. I even took a relative to a clinic here (who didn't have any insurance since they are a visitor) and a clinic visit and medication cost $70 total with no insurance. That same visit in the US would've cost around $350-$500.

The admin cost issue in the US is just too crazy and leads to all kinds of perverse consequences beyond the sheer cost to consumers and insurance companies.

 

This is 100% the problem the politicians are BRIBED in this country - we have to remove lobbyists.....

DD

 

You must pay cash or have Medicare. Most people in a private plan have to deal with in network or out of network, preferred provider or not, etc.

I’ll never understand how anyone thinks having for profit companies rationing your healthcare by determining which doctor you can see, which hospital you can go to, what procedure you can have is somehow superior to single payer.

Capitalism is great but it has completely screwed up the American healthcare system. Which is why every other industrialized nation other than the US went single payer. Those systems are all providing better outcomes for much less money.

 

@Phillyrocket

It was a joke, lol

That’s the catch phrase that was commonly repeated during the dem primaries

We can’t have universal healthcare, because Americans love their freedom to choose from different options.

And it worked

 

Its a grift, the pricing is opaque and why? You can't apply totally free market to health and watch them charge americans the source of the companies more than they charge the rest of the world bc the governtment doesnt know how to check and balance. Even myself, got a terrible diagnosis, I'm very lucky I can at least try a treatment, but i can't imagine the stress of someone who couldn't in this situation and the damn insurance trying to tell me everythign is experimental and to go die on a rock and tahts with top level company insurance.

Sadly, while theres flaws in every system, america is a laughing stock in our health care system and prices to the rest of the world. Never thought'd i'd see a time when people leave the country for procedures, but thats where we are...same thing with dental, vets...you never know what youl'll get and I'd imagine hedge funds have ownership in these medical businesses too and their bottom line is their bottom line.

 

Pretty much the same conclusion that I've come to. Only question is how to fix it? The people who would need to pass the laws to change the system are already motivated to avoid making any changes to the system.