4 ms·

It's not only that. Our local hospitals can't give us prices for procedures that other places can. We tried price shopping an hsg test because we had to out of

by sbov 9y ago

It's not only that. Our local hospitals can't give us prices for procedures that other places can. We tried price shopping an hsg test because we had to out of pocket it. Hospitals took hours on the phone and multiple call backs. Other places could give us a quote in minutes. We chose a hospital based on price. The morning of the procedure they told us it doesn't include everything. But they said we were wrong and our insurance covered it, so we didn't worry. But it got denied, and then we had to pay their shitty insurance inflated price.

telchar 9y ago
It's frustrating. Neither the hospital nor the insurer typically has sufficient information to give you an answer. It's even worse when your information like age or diagnosis history factors into it.
- maxxxxx 9y ago
  Somehow they can figure it out after the procedure. They could easily give you the cost for each billing code upfront but they choose to hide the information from the patient;
  - telchar 9y ago
    Last time I had a procedure done it took 9 months before a bill showed up. It's a many to many communication problem so they only bother to figure it out when they need to, and then it can take a while for the hospital and insurer to hash things out. I'm not saying 9 mos is typical, but I wouldn't wait anywhere near that long to get an answer on how long something will cost me. They just don't have the incentives to form all the necessary lines of communication among themselves prospectively.
Symbiote 9y ago
An HSG test at a private hospital in the UK is about £400, if you'd like to compare. That's according to forum posts, the provider's websites are mostly referring to a newer procedure now, with a similar cost. (Just search HSG test UK private.) I think private healthcare in the UK would have very clear pricing. They have to compete with "free" (in this case, "free but not urgent, so your appointment is in six weeks") and deceiving patients is not going to attract further custom.

by sbov 9y ago

telchar 9y ago

It's frustrating. Neither the hospital nor the insurer typically has sufficient information to give you an answer. It's even worse when your information like age or diagnosis history factors into it.

maxxxxx 9y ago
Somehow they can figure it out after the procedure. They could easily give you the cost for each billing code upfront but they choose to hide the information from the patient;
- telchar 9y ago
  Last time I had a procedure done it took 9 months before a bill showed up. It's a many to many communication problem so they only bother to figure it out when they need to, and then it can take a while for the hospital and insurer to hash things out. I'm not saying 9 mos is typical, but I wouldn't wait anywhere near that long to get an answer on how long something will cost me. They just don't have the incentives to form all the necessary lines of communication among themselves prospectively.

Symbiote 9y ago

An HSG test at a private hospital in the UK is about £400, if you'd like to compare. That's according to forum posts, the provider's websites are mostly referring to a newer procedure now, with a similar cost. (Just search HSG test UK private.) I think private healthcare in the UK would have very clear pricing. They have to compete with "free" (in this case, "free but not urgent, so your appointment is in six weeks") and deceiving patients is not going to attract further custom.