Thanks. I hadn't heard of this petition.

Here is a blog post by Weissman:
https://www.centerforhealthjournalism.org/...ding-us-death-design

 
Can confirm, had a $4,000 MRI bill that I believe wound up costing insurance $300, and me $100 (or thereabouts). I've had my health savings account for five years and have had two hip surgeries and all the supporting x-rays/MRI's/appts you'd expect (on top of routine care) and it's pretty remarkable the variance in quoted prices for the same services between providers, and also the variance between quoted price and negotiated insurance price and OOP price.

Just a whole bunch of bullshit is what it is. With more and more policies of the HSA variety, and fewer and fewer 'full coverage' caddilac plans it makes SO much sense to require consumer pricing on health care services. You can compare apples to apples AND it'll have positive (downward) pressure on prices.

They have worked very hard to convince people that it isn't their fault. the lawyers made them do it.

When every office and clinic has MRI machines and CAT scans you are going to get a shitload of MRI's and CAT scans. Doctors have convinced people that it is defensive medicine brought on by malpractice claims that cause them to do all the tests. Reality is those machines print money, but only when they are humming along.

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I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.

I know of no other industry that you purchase something with no idea of how much it costs.....try finding out how much an echocardiogram will cost.....or any other procedure...in advance - it is like pulling teeth out of people. There is very little variability in carrying out the test - it can't be that hard to determine....

I never see anything about the transparency of health care costs.....similar to college -- everybody talks about the student debt, but not the cause of why college costs are so high....

How can we come up with solutions if we don't know the root causes of our problems....or ignore them

I was in the ER 4 weeks ago. Just got the bill. Rounded off, billed $1,700 insurance paid $1000 and $100 out of me for deductible. Looking at the back of the bill trying to find who to make the check out to I find,

"for hospital based services, you are eligible to receive a 60% discount from the total billed charges for your services if the discounted balance is paid in full within 60 days. "

uninsured you only pay 40%.... insured pay 65%.

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"I think I've cracked the code. double letters are cheaters except for perfect squares (a, d, i, p and y). So Leddy isn't a cheater... "

Th whole system is retarded. But a lot of it is the government's fault. Medicare pays a percentage of what you bill up to a certain amount. So to get the max that they'll pay you have to charge an outrageous amount, like $4000 for an MRI to get $800. And most private insurances base their pay off of Medicare rates (120% of Medicare max, for example). Where it really gets messed up is when someone doesn't have insurance and wants to pay cash. By provider contract, you can't give them the same discount you give your insured patients and some hospitals/doctors (criminally, IMO) charge the whole amount like the $4000 for the MRI.

We even have this problem in Canada. Here in Ontario it seems like every second ultrasound or CT that comes back finds some little something that could be something and recommends we repeat it 6 months sometimes three. I used to think it was all legal/CYA but I don't think radiologists are sued that often when I get reports from our malpractice insurer which is pretty well countrywide they seldom mention it as a leading cause of suits. More and more I am starting to think it increases business for radiologists and that is why more are asked for. I hate thinking that but it is hard not to.

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They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

Every time i or a family member has a medical procedure done I ask for the cost beforehand and have never had a problem getting that information.

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Civilize the mind, but make savage the body.

- Chinese proverb

I recently had to get an echocardiogram --- I called several places and was told the cost was dependent on what insurance company I used and what plan I had......I wasn't asking what the ultimate cost to me was (which would depend on my deductible, copay, etc.) I just wanted to know the raw cost....Again, was told that each insurance company negotiates with organizations for a discount that is taken off the top of the full cost then passed on to the insured. When you ask for the cash price it is this outrageous high cost that they will negotiate with you directly on (because you are paying cash) - but again, they won't discuss that with you until you make the appointment and start the process.

Same for lab work ---- if a lab panel isn't classified under "preventative" you foot the bill.....but again that cost depends on the discount your insurance company has negotiated with LabCorp or whomever. So you find out after you have had the test.

Oh, well I just usually bypass the insurance company altogether and request a cash price, in writing.

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Civilize the mind, but make savage the body.

- Chinese proverb

I don't think it is if you're a business/industry and you want to make a boat load of money. Lack of transparency usually means huge profits!

My local Children's Hospital charged me 3800 for a MRI for my daughter. My MRI at a local imaging center cost 800. Tell me why it cost that much more to do a MRI on my 12 year kid? All the brightly colored paint on the walls? It got to the point that I said to the pediatricians that I do not want to be referred to any services at Children's Hospital because of their ridiculous price gouging.

Not defending the price differential but not all MRI's are the same. There are varying degrees of quality.

My wife had to have an MRI... actually multiple MRI's and the doc we met with explained that her's were done with a good machine as the details in the MRI were nice and sharp. He said many he reviews look like they were taken with machines 30 years old and may very well have been.

The problem is some places advertise a low cost MRI, the insurance company authorizes and pay for it but the quality isn't sufficient to get the real detail that's needed. Order a second one from a different facility with a better/ newer machine? Insurance won't pay, the patient can't pay that much out of pocket, so what do you do?

I'm not suggesting there is a linear relationship of price vs quality but not all MRI's are equal any more than all cameras are equal (a fantastic analogy even if I do say so myself).

Don't know the answer to the overall healthcare question but the answer isn't having insurance company executives write healthcare laws.