Submitted by Dr_Midnight t3_zqh3cd in baltimore
Because they're both cases where people largely aren't spending their own money.
For healthcare, the vast majority of people have health insurance and only care about their copay.
For higher education, the open spigot of government guaranteed loans ensures tuition and costs will grow to match the available funds.
Yes, I think not spending one's own money is a prime reason. If people could get quick loans for car repairs, mechanics would prob start over charging, knowing there was an easy money source. Now they realize that people have to take it from their own pocket, this keeps them more in check. I am convinced that this whole student loan crisis has been because people can get school loans fairly easily.
For healthcare, there's a whole host of reasons. But a big one is price transparency. It is nigh impossible to shop around for healthcare, because even hospitals/clinics and your insurance aren't sure how much you'll be charged out of pocket until they send it through billing. Imagine a world where you don't discover the price of anything until after you buy it. That's US healthcare. Markets can't function without prices.
That is what this publish requirement is meant to fix, but I don't think it will be much help. Contracts change constantly and a lot of the data is wrong. It doesn't account for deductibles or maximum coverage or if your insurance decides to not cover something just because.
Maryland is unique in that regulated hospitals have to charge the same amount for the same service, and revenue is capped. Hospitals ostensibly can't make more money by pumping up volumes. But that is just the facility fee, professional fees (the doctors) still function under fee-for-service and can vary greatly. Clinics are unaffected as well.
If it takes an army of professionals to vaguely understand the system, what hope is there for any particular individual?
All of this is a bunch of jibberish, the real answer is that healthcare isn’t and shouldn’t be a “market commodity” but a fundamental human right guaranteed to all.
[removed]
[deleted]
[deleted]
It is terrific that this is being done but I don't think it provides the transparency many are seeking. The prices listed (save for out of pocket/uninsured) are the inflated prices that hospitals charge the insurance companies. The insurance companies basically never pay the listed fee but instead pay negotiated fees based on their precedent with the facility. In most cases for insured patients the data presented here will be close to useless.
> The insurance companies basically never pay the listed fee but instead pay negotiated fees based on their precedent with the facility.
My insurance company does that all the time for my wife's bloodwork. Latest EOB LabCorp claimed it cost $384 and the insurance said "fuck you here's $17."
Which is kind of why they have to initially charge so much. If they say "this bloodwork costs $40" and the insurance contract says they're only going to pay 10% of the listed cost, the lab has to charge $400 to get the $40 they actually need.
Maybe some insurance contracts pay 30%. Maybe some pay 5%. The lab can only publish one price so they go with the one that gives them the best chance of getting what they need, based on their historic experience with how many patients use which insurance companies.
It would be FAR more helpful for this cost data to be the "cash price" for procedures.
You’re a king! This can legitimately change peoples’ lives. I will be sharing the hell out of this. Hospitals are run by scumbags who want to rip off people as much as possible. I’m not talking about doctors and nurses.
Good job, thanks for putting in the effort 👍🏾
Just a reminder to always ask for itemized receipts when asked to pay for anything not included in the insurance
[deleted]
Amazing idea and well done! I just sent this to like 10 people.
I took a look and am so mad now about my MRI cost.
as shits and giggles i typed it in and did the zip code of the hospital i work at and while i could not find it i found one of the hospitals other location and saw how much they charge out of pocket for it and holy fucking shit.. the out of pocket prices for these things are astronomical and makes you sort of realize how fucked we all are. i assume we are all 9a to 5p or 7p to 7a types.
It might be the "list price" that nobody actually pays.
S-Kunst t1_j0yesx8 wrote
This is a good idea. Still, I hope to learn from an economist, why, in America only hospitals and colleges go against the economy norm for any industry, where greater size equals lower consumer cost.