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A good start, but shopping around is hard, if not impossible. I always try to do it when getting care in the states, and more often than not the person you're
by acabal 14y ago
A good start, but shopping around is hard, if not impossible. I always try to do it when getting care in the states, and more often than not the person you're talking to has no idea what they charge, or else won't discuss it without having the doctor's orders in hand first. ("How much does a chest x-ray cost?" "We'll assess costs after the doctor orders some tests." "But how do I know if I want to see the doctor at this hospital if I don't know how much everything costs?")
Worse is the case of emergencies or worry, when you have other things on your mind than shopping around and possibly spending days or weeks slogging through the internet for lists of doctor and test center phone numbers. In that case you're literally trapped into paying whatever they demand.
In either case the system is absolutely monstrous and everyone involved (except, of course, the doctors and nurses) should be ashamed of themselves.
- mgkimsal 14y agoIt's 110% broken from a consumer point-of-view, which is funny because most of the people that defend the status quo in the US are political conservatives who talk about the 'free market' and such. When no one in an entire building of service provides can give you even a ballpark of what a service will cost you, there's no free market at work - at least not at the consumer/individual level.
- lotharbot 14y agoUS political conservatives don't "defend the status quo". They complain that the parts of the system they already hate keep expanding.
- cpher 14y agoI agree that it's broken from the consumer's point of view. But, conservatives aren't defending anything. They acknowledge that the system is broken, because there's no free market to speak of. If you think the current state of things resembles a free market in any way, you're sorely mistaken. The ACA/Obamacare isn't an effort to fix health care. It's an attempt to reconfigure and eventually bankrupt the health care insurance industry. And both parties are to blame, ultimately.
- pchivers 14y ago>A good start, but shopping around is hard, if not impossible I think shopping around, properly conceived, should be the primary care physician's job. If a doctor is referring e.g. 10 people a month to a specialist, then obviously they are going to be in a much better position to evaluate the options than a patient. I believe that Sherpaa, Jay Parkinson's company, provides this "shopping around" service (https://sherpaa.com/ https://sherpaa.com/).
- Spooky23 14y agoNot really. Hospital networks are merging, affiliating and consolidating. So if your primary care doctor is affiliated with Hospital X, and specialist group Y is also affiliated with hospital X, there's a good chance that you're going to be referred to specialist group Y. The exception is when you have some unusual circumstance, and they try to find the world's authority on your condition.
- yummyfajitas 14y agoIn India, common procedures (e.g. blood test) usually have prices listed on a sign. I had surgery done there, and each doctor gave me a price estimate with the diagnosis ("approx 85k for the basic, 1 lac if you want the deluxe private room"). Of course, there are many big differences between India and the US. India is mainly free market health care, unlike the US. India also has a 15-20% savings rate. And insurance is really insurance - it covers emergencies, not your monthly birth control/adderall/psychiatrist.
- amalag 14y agoYes noone expects their car insurance to pay for their oil change, but we expect that from health insurance. The model in Singapore is a mandatory health savings plan with catastrophic health coverage.
- smackfu 14y agoYeah, I ran into the same thing trying to argue a charge. Me: This is outrageous, they charged me $800 to examine my shoulder and called it "external surgery". Receptionist: Oh, let me transfer you to billing. Billing: Oh, that is what was coded on your chart, so we billed accordingly. Let me transfer you to the doctor's staffer. Staffer: Oh, that is what the doctor said he did, and he can't change that to say he did something else or that would be dishonest. He doesn't deal with billing at all. Me: Arrrrrrgh.
- vellum 14y agoI'd try shopping around for a GP first, versus a hospital. Find out if they offer cash discounts and which testing centers they use. Then see if the testing center they use offer a discount. If your primary care doctor is cool, he should be able to tell you the estimate and cash discount during the consultation.