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If that's true, explain surgical center pricing, which often beats health chain prices by over 50%.

• ceejayoz 1y ago
  That has at least one fairly simple explanation: those centers only take lower acuity patients. If you're complex with a history of complications, it'll be "we'll do this one at an actual hospital". (This is frequently the case for my wife.) They may also not take Medicaid patients; my state publishes lists of ones that actually do because of this. https://www.health.ny.gov/health_care/medicaid/quality/surgery/cancer/breast/contract.htm https://www.health.ny.gov/health_care/medicaid/quality/surge...
  • tptacek 1y ago
    Right, I know that surgical centers operate with a variety of important limitations (surgical centers as they exist now are not an answer to the US health spending problem, which I preemptive agree is very real). I'm just saying that they're evidence of an at least semi-functioning market; they couldn't exist without that (who would send pts to them otherwise?).
    • ceejayoz 1y ago
      That some pieces of the healthcare market may function is something we can all probably agree on. But /u/Sparkle-san was clearly speaking about something broader than these individual exceptions from the rule. (And even in the case of a surgical center, your decision is likely to be significantly impacted by who your insurer will agree to cover.)