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> I mean, yea, you check with your insurer first? If you're checking with your insurer to find the price, then that makes the hospital's listed prices meaningl

> I mean, yea, you check with your insurer first? If you're checking with your insurer to find the price, then that makes the hospital's listed prices meaningless, which is the entire point of this comment chain.

sigmar 9y ago
The insurer doesn't know what each hospital charges. Posting costs online is just to make it more convenient to find the information. In the perfect world, everyone would sit down with the hospital, look at the likely range of costs of a procedure, call the HMO/PPO to check how each outcome would be covered, and then repeat that process at several locations. But that is arduous and people don't have the time or patience.
- txcwpalpha 9y ago
  >The insurer doesn't know what each hospital charges. Yes they do. Providers are already required to make their list prices publicly available, and insurance companies have it (they are already available to the general public as well, but they're probably going to be hard to find/understand for a layperson). Many insurance companies already have cost lookup tools specifically for this purpose. Posting the hospital's list price online like the article is talking about is purely for the consumption of the patient. It is not of use to the insurer. >In the perfect world In a perfect world, I'd contest that you wouldn't have to worry about healthcare costs at all, but I digress. >everyone would sit down with the hospital, look at the likely range of costs of a procedure, call the HMO/PPO to check how each outcome would be covered Except you already can do this even without looking at the list prices from a hospital. Your insurance can already tell you exactly how much you will be charged by any provider. They do not need these online 'list prices' to do so.
- chimeracoder 9y ago
  > The insurer doesn't know what each hospital charges. Posting costs online is just to make it more convenient to find the information. Every hospital charges more than the maximum reimbursable amount for the insurer. If they don't, that's because they've made a mistake - their goal is literally to set a bill that's high enough that it will generate a reimbursement for the maximum amount each time.

sigmar 9y ago

The insurer doesn't know what each hospital charges. Posting costs online is just to make it more convenient to find the information. In the perfect world, everyone would sit down with the hospital, look at the likely range of costs of a procedure, call the HMO/PPO to check how each outcome would be covered, and then repeat that process at several locations. But that is arduous and people don't have the time or patience.

txcwpalpha 9y ago
>The insurer doesn't know what each hospital charges. Yes they do. Providers are already required to make their list prices publicly available, and insurance companies have it (they are already available to the general public as well, but they're probably going to be hard to find/understand for a layperson). Many insurance companies already have cost lookup tools specifically for this purpose. Posting the hospital's list price online like the article is talking about is purely for the consumption of the patient. It is not of use to the insurer. >In the perfect world In a perfect world, I'd contest that you wouldn't have to worry about healthcare costs at all, but I digress. >everyone would sit down with the hospital, look at the likely range of costs of a procedure, call the HMO/PPO to check how each outcome would be covered Except you already can do this even without looking at the list prices from a hospital. Your insurance can already tell you exactly how much you will be charged by any provider. They do not need these online 'list prices' to do so.
chimeracoder 9y ago
> The insurer doesn't know what each hospital charges. Posting costs online is just to make it more convenient to find the information. Every hospital charges more than the maximum reimbursable amount for the insurer. If they don't, that's because they've made a mistake - their goal is literally to set a bill that's high enough that it will generate a reimbursement for the maximum amount each time.