9 ms·

When I take my cat to the vet I get upfront estimates. When I take myself to the doctor no one can tell me how much anything costs. Regardless of insurance st

When I take my cat to the vet I get upfront estimates. When I take myself to the doctor no one can tell me how much anything costs. Regardless of insurance status the vet gets paid the same amount. My pets get better healthcare then I do and I pay less for it and they don’t have insurance. I’m relatively healthy, my cat has FIV. I have insurance my pets don’t.

elSidCampeador 5y ago
> When I take myself to the doctor no one can tell me how much anything costs. Not an American so asking out of curiosity - don't hospitals have price lists?
- psyc 5y ago
  In America, you spend a few hours in the hospital, and then for the next year you receive separate snailmail bills for each procedure, medication, machine, instrument, outsourced clinic, and every doctor who happened to pop in to greet you. All in unpredictable, exorbitant amounts. And any of these bills may be sent to you again even if you pay. If you're well insured, you still get all the fun reading material, but they say "amount you owe: 0.00"
  - formerkrogeremp 5y ago
    "Amount you owe: $15,000 MOOP (max out of pocket) and $230 premium." There I fixed it for you buddy.
- geoduck14 5y ago
  Nope. Here is a personal example that I love to use. When my wife was first pregnant, we had health insurance amd we picked a hospital whose business was 50% baby delivery. Not a single person could tell me how much it would cost to deliver the child. The OBG couldn't tell me. My health Insurance couldn't tell me. The hospital couldn't tell me. I know - for a fact - the hospital had delivered babies from other people with my insurance. They couldn't tell me the cost of a delivery. Also, someone screwed something up and I was improperly charged for a hearing test. SMH.
- Spooky23 5y ago
  No. Doctors make a show out of a professional indifference to filthy lucre, except when they cash the checks. Because the federal government insures the poor and old, the law requires that they get the best pricing. So every other insurer pays a little more, until you get to an uninsured person, who pays some unfathomable rate.
- nessguy 5y ago
  Technically as of January 2021 hospitals in the US are supposed to have price transparency now. https://www.cms.gov/hospital-price-transparency https://www.cms.gov/hospital-price-transparency While it's a step in the right direction, most people don't know about it, the accuracy is questionable, what insurance will cover isn't clear, and what random additional fees will be added are unknown.
  - hunterb123 5y ago
    Noone is enforcing it, it was enacted by the Trump administration in 2019, effective Jan 2021, but the Biden administration isn't enforcing it and hospitals are defying it. https://healthcareexecintelligence.healthitanalytics.com/news/hospitals-fall-short-of-price-transparency-rule-compliance https://healthcareexecintelligence.healthitanalytics.com/new...

elSidCampeador 5y ago

> When I take myself to the doctor no one can tell me how much anything costs. Not an American so asking out of curiosity - don't hospitals have price lists?

psyc 5y ago
In America, you spend a few hours in the hospital, and then for the next year you receive separate snailmail bills for each procedure, medication, machine, instrument, outsourced clinic, and every doctor who happened to pop in to greet you. All in unpredictable, exorbitant amounts. And any of these bills may be sent to you again even if you pay. If you're well insured, you still get all the fun reading material, but they say "amount you owe: 0.00"
- formerkrogeremp 5y ago
  "Amount you owe: $15,000 MOOP (max out of pocket) and $230 premium." There I fixed it for you buddy.
geoduck14 5y ago
Nope. Here is a personal example that I love to use. When my wife was first pregnant, we had health insurance amd we picked a hospital whose business was 50% baby delivery. Not a single person could tell me how much it would cost to deliver the child. The OBG couldn't tell me. My health Insurance couldn't tell me. The hospital couldn't tell me. I know - for a fact - the hospital had delivered babies from other people with my insurance. They couldn't tell me the cost of a delivery. Also, someone screwed something up and I was improperly charged for a hearing test. SMH.
Spooky23 5y ago
No. Doctors make a show out of a professional indifference to filthy lucre, except when they cash the checks. Because the federal government insures the poor and old, the law requires that they get the best pricing. So every other insurer pays a little more, until you get to an uninsured person, who pays some unfathomable rate.
nessguy 5y ago
Technically as of January 2021 hospitals in the US are supposed to have price transparency now. https://www.cms.gov/hospital-price-transparency https://www.cms.gov/hospital-price-transparency While it's a step in the right direction, most people don't know about it, the accuracy is questionable, what insurance will cover isn't clear, and what random additional fees will be added are unknown.
- hunterb123 5y ago
  Noone is enforcing it, it was enacted by the Trump administration in 2019, effective Jan 2021, but the Biden administration isn't enforcing it and hospitals are defying it. https://healthcareexecintelligence.healthitanalytics.com/news/hospitals-fall-short-of-price-transparency-rule-compliance https://healthcareexecintelligence.healthitanalytics.com/new...