My wife's epi pen was $10 now $200.
Why did it cost $1,000 to have my ingrown toe nail reduced by acid?
Why did it cost $1,000 to have my ingrown toe nail reduced by acid?
Waco1947
Waco1947 said:
My wife's epi pen was $10 now $200.
Why did it cost $1,000 to have my ingrown toe nail reduced by acid?
Man, I would have given you a HUGE discount on that ingrown toenail, and I wouldn't even have used any acid. Trust me. I'm a doctor. I stayed in a La Quinta last night.Waco1947 said:
My wife's epi pen was $10 now $200.
Why did it cost $1,000 to have my ingrown toe nail reduced by acid?
Because someone has to pay for the free loaders. Unreimbursed medical care (mostly ER visits) is at an all time high, especially in big cities. If you have cash or any kind of insurance, you are going to pay for yourself and them too.Waco1947 said:
My wife's epi pen was $10 now $200.
Why did it cost $1,000 to have my ingrown toe nail reduced by acid?
BellCountyBear said:Because someone has to pay for the free loaders. Unreimbursed medical care (mostly ER visits) is at an all time high, especially in big cities. If you have cash or any kind of insurance, you are going to pay for yourself and them too.Waco1947 said:
My wife's epi pen was $10 now $200.
Why did it cost $1,000 to have my ingrown toe nail reduced by acid?
Waco1947 said:
I am asking a larger question. Why rising health costs - doctors, hospitals, insurance companies.?
Waco1947 said:
I am asking a larger question. Why rising health costs - doctors, hospitals, insurance companies.?
. Living longer means more health care. It's tough. We can't just let the aged go without care (says the guy pushing 71)trey3216 said:Waco1947 said:
I am asking a larger question. Why rising health costs - doctors, hospitals, insurance companies.?
It's been that way for about 25 years. We also have more and more people using more and more services (aging society and terribly unhealthy society) as well as more and more people not paying for any of it. So, those of us who do pay for it via insurance or other methods are paying more and more for it.
That's part of it but the other big driver outside of those already mentioned is lawyers. Pharmaceutical and med device companies get sued regularly. And have you priced malpractice insurance lately???Waco1947 said:
Is there any evidence that money in big medical (is that a term?) Driving costs via legislation.
Because there is no damn competition.Waco1947 said:
I am asking a larger question. Why rising health costs - doctors, hospitals, insurance companies.?
Who are the free loaders? Why are they driving up your cost?BellCountyBear said:Because someone has to pay for the free loaders. Unreimbursed medical care (mostly ER visits) is at an all time high, especially in big cities. If you have cash or any kind of insurance, you are going to pay for yourself and them too.Waco1947 said:
My wife's epi pen was $10 now $200.
Why did it cost $1,000 to have my ingrown toe nail reduced by acid?
How does one create competition? Is that on me to search out price? Why do I see billboards that say "Come to my hospital?" I don't choose my hospital; my doctor does. How does one create competition?Doc Holliday said:Because there is no damn competition.Waco1947 said:
I am asking a larger question. Why rising health costs - doctors, hospitals, insurance companies.?
On what planet would you walk into a burger shop, order a burger and then have them tell you the price of the burger? It could be a $5 burger or a $200 burger.
That's how our current health care system works.
Ah yes, the antithesis of the left...having to do work.Waco1947 said:How does one create competition? Is that on me to search out price? Why do I see billboards that say "Come to my hospital?" I don't choose my hospital; my doctor does. How does one create competition?Doc Holliday said:Because there is no damn competition.Waco1947 said:
I am asking a larger question. Why rising health costs - doctors, hospitals, insurance companies.?
On what planet would you walk into a burger shop, order a burger and then have them tell you the price of the burger? It could be a $5 burger or a $200 burger.
That's how our current health care system works.
. I asked about your personal experience. I never in all my 70 years of health shopped price. Have you?CSIBear said:Ah yes, the antithesis of the left...having to do work.Waco1947 said:How does one create competition? Is that on me to search out price? Why do I see billboards that say "Come to my hospital?" I don't choose my hospital; my doctor does. How does one create competition?Doc Holliday said:Because there is no damn competition.Waco1947 said:
I am asking a larger question. Why rising health costs - doctors, hospitals, insurance companies.?
On what planet would you walk into a burger shop, order a burger and then have them tell you the price of the burger? It could be a $5 burger or a $200 burger.
That's how our current health care system works.
In everything, it is in your best interest to do your own research. That would include pricing hospitals, doctors and treatments. Before Obama, you actually were allowed to pick your own doctor. And you can tell your doctor which hospital you want to use. Just have to speak up.
Think about it:Waco1947 said:How does one create competition? Is that on me to search out price? Why do I see billboards that say "Come to my hospital?" I don't choose my hospital; my doctor does. How does one create competition?Doc Holliday said:Because there is no damn competition.Waco1947 said:
I am asking a larger question. Why rising health costs - doctors, hospitals, insurance companies.?
On what planet would you walk into a burger shop, order a burger and then have them tell you the price of the burger? It could be a $5 burger or a $200 burger.
That's how our current health care system works.
. I Understand how competition works in car buying and burgers but how does it work on a personal patient basis?Doc Holliday said:Think about it:Waco1947 said:How does one create competition? Is that on me to search out price? Why do I see billboards that say "Come to my hospital?" I don't choose my hospital; my doctor does. How does one create competition?Doc Holliday said:Because there is no damn competition.Waco1947 said:
I am asking a larger question. Why rising health costs - doctors, hospitals, insurance companies.?
On what planet would you walk into a burger shop, order a burger and then have them tell you the price of the burger? It could be a $5 burger or a $200 burger.
That's how our current health care system works.
If you want to buy a car, you can look online, you can search prices, you can haggle prices etc.
Let me show you a scenario where competition lowers costs:
Dealership 1: Car is $30k
Dealership 2: This dealership wants business so they drop the price of the same car that dealer 1 has by $3k for $27K.
That's competition driving prices down. It's why capitalism is the greatest economic foundation that we know of.
If you want competition, you take the government out of the picture and let the free market drive down prices. Anyone who wants a piece of the pie will have to lower their prices to steal market share.
Drug and service costs.Waco1947 said:. I Understand how competition works in car buying and burgers but how does it work on a personal patient basis?Doc Holliday said:Think about it:Waco1947 said:How does one create competition? Is that on me to search out price? Why do I see billboards that say "Come to my hospital?" I don't choose my hospital; my doctor does. How does one create competition?Doc Holliday said:Because there is no damn competition.Waco1947 said:
I am asking a larger question. Why rising health costs - doctors, hospitals, insurance companies.?
On what planet would you walk into a burger shop, order a burger and then have them tell you the price of the burger? It could be a $5 burger or a $200 burger.
That's how our current health care system works.
If you want to buy a car, you can look online, you can search prices, you can haggle prices etc.
Let me show you a scenario where competition lowers costs:
Dealership 1: Car is $30k
Dealership 2: This dealership wants business so they drop the price of the same car that dealer 1 has by $3k for $27K.
That's competition driving prices down. It's why capitalism is the greatest economic foundation that we know of.
If you want competition, you take the government out of the picture and let the free market drive down prices. Anyone who wants a piece of the pie will have to lower their prices to steal market share.
Yes I have. I downloaded a list of hospitals, ERs and Urgent Clinics in my "network" then I researched how much each one will cost me - after insurance - then I made a note of which one(s) came out on top and that's the one I will go to.Waco1947 said:. I asked about your personal experience. I never in all my 70 years of health shopped price. Have you?CSIBear said:Ah yes, the antithesis of the left...having to do work.Waco1947 said:How does one create competition? Is that on me to search out price? Why do I see billboards that say "Come to my hospital?" I don't choose my hospital; my doctor does. How does one create competition?Doc Holliday said:Because there is no damn competition.Waco1947 said:
I am asking a larger question. Why rising health costs - doctors, hospitals, insurance companies.?
On what planet would you walk into a burger shop, order a burger and then have them tell you the price of the burger? It could be a $5 burger or a $200 burger.
That's how our current health care system works.
In everything, it is in your best interest to do your own research. That would include pricing hospitals, doctors and treatments. Before Obama, you actually were allowed to pick your own doctor. And you can tell your doctor which hospital you want to use. Just have to speak up.
Doc Holliday said:Drug and service costs.Waco1947 said:. I Understand how competition works in car buying and burgers but how does it work on a personal patient basis?Doc Holliday said:Think about it:Waco1947 said:How does one create competition? Is that on me to search out price? Why do I see billboards that say "Come to my hospital?" I don't choose my hospital; my doctor does. How does one create competition?Doc Holliday said:Because there is no damn competition.Waco1947 said:
I am asking a larger question. Why rising health costs - doctors, hospitals, insurance companies.?
On what planet would you walk into a burger shop, order a burger and then have them tell you the price of the burger? It could be a $5 burger or a $200 burger.
That's how our current health care system works.
If you want to buy a car, you can look online, you can search prices, you can haggle prices etc.
Let me show you a scenario where competition lowers costs:
Dealership 1: Car is $30k
Dealership 2: This dealership wants business so they drop the price of the same car that dealer 1 has by $3k for $27K.
That's competition driving prices down. It's why capitalism is the greatest economic foundation that we know of.
If you want competition, you take the government out of the picture and let the free market drive down prices. Anyone who wants a piece of the pie will have to lower their prices to steal market share.
You don't know how much an x ray is, but if you were aware and could choose anyone, you would pick whoever is offering the lowest price.
Apply this same logic to virtually everything in healthcare.
I would eliminate this process completely.Waco1947 said:Doc Holliday said:Drug and service costs.Waco1947 said:. I Understand how competition works in car buying and burgers but how does it work on a personal patient basis?Doc Holliday said:Think about it:Waco1947 said:How does one create competition? Is that on me to search out price? Why do I see billboards that say "Come to my hospital?" I don't choose my hospital; my doctor does. How does one create competition?Doc Holliday said:Because there is no damn competition.Waco1947 said:
I am asking a larger question. Why rising health costs - doctors, hospitals, insurance companies.?
On what planet would you walk into a burger shop, order a burger and then have them tell you the price of the burger? It could be a $5 burger or a $200 burger.
That's how our current health care system works.
If you want to buy a car, you can look online, you can search prices, you can haggle prices etc.
Let me show you a scenario where competition lowers costs:
Dealership 1: Car is $30k
Dealership 2: This dealership wants business so they drop the price of the same car that dealer 1 has by $3k for $27K.
That's competition driving prices down. It's why capitalism is the greatest economic foundation that we know of.
If you want competition, you take the government out of the picture and let the free market drive down prices. Anyone who wants a piece of the pie will have to lower their prices to steal market share.
You don't know how much an x ray is, but if you were aware and could choose anyone, you would pick whoever is offering the lowest price.
Apply this same logic to virtually everything in healthcare.
1. I had knee replacement surgery.
My orthopedic doctor was a member of my church. He said "You need a knee transplant but I don't do knees. See the guy down the hall."
2. I go to the doctor down hall "You need a knee replacement but I need a heart stress test and lung X-ray and your primary Dr to sign off that you're healthy enough."
3. I did it all and went to who they recommended.
4. I did the surgery. A huge success. I got my mobility back.
5. Medicare sent me some kind of statement that the estimated cost would be $67,000!
6. My first thought was ain't going to waste the taxpayers money. I'll do my rehab and return to my Habitat for Humanity volunteer work.
7. I asked the doctor at my 6 month exam. "Did it cost $67,000 for my knee and how much went to you?"
Dr: "I don't know. I work on contract and whether I do 1 or 5 replacements a week I get the same amount of money."
8. At what point do I negotiate?
How would you Doc negotiate that process?
Exactly. Life doesn't have to be super difficult. Just put forth a little effort.Doc Holliday said:I would eliminate this process completely.Waco1947 said:Doc Holliday said:Drug and service costs.Waco1947 said:. I Understand how competition works in car buying and burgers but how does it work on a personal patient basis?Doc Holliday said:Think about it:Waco1947 said:How does one create competition? Is that on me to search out price? Why do I see billboards that say "Come to my hospital?" I don't choose my hospital; my doctor does. How does one create competition?Doc Holliday said:Because there is no damn competition.Waco1947 said:
I am asking a larger question. Why rising health costs - doctors, hospitals, insurance companies.?
On what planet would you walk into a burger shop, order a burger and then have them tell you the price of the burger? It could be a $5 burger or a $200 burger.
That's how our current health care system works.
If you want to buy a car, you can look online, you can search prices, you can haggle prices etc.
Let me show you a scenario where competition lowers costs:
Dealership 1: Car is $30k
Dealership 2: This dealership wants business so they drop the price of the same car that dealer 1 has by $3k for $27K.
That's competition driving prices down. It's why capitalism is the greatest economic foundation that we know of.
If you want competition, you take the government out of the picture and let the free market drive down prices. Anyone who wants a piece of the pie will have to lower their prices to steal market share.
You don't know how much an x ray is, but if you were aware and could choose anyone, you would pick whoever is offering the lowest price.
Apply this same logic to virtually everything in healthcare.
1. I had knee replacement surgery.
My orthopedic doctor was a member of my church. He said "You need a knee transplant but I don't do knees. See the guy down the hall."
2. I go to the doctor down hall "You need a knee replacement but I need a heart stress test and lung X-ray and your primary Dr to sign off that you're healthy enough."
3. I did it all and went to who they recommended.
4. I did the surgery. A huge success. I got my mobility back.
5. Medicare sent me some kind of statement that the estimated cost would be $67,000!
6. My first thought was ain't going to waste the taxpayers money. I'll do my rehab and return to my Habitat for Humanity volunteer work.
7. I asked the doctor at my 6 month exam. "Did it cost $67,000 for my knee and how much went to you?"
Dr: "I don't know. I work on contract and whether I do 1 or 5 replacements a week I get the same amount of money."
8. At what point do I negotiate?
How would you Doc negotiate that process?
Your doc says you need a knee surgery and you can then shop around knowing the price being offered for the service prior to anything being done.
This 100%.bearassnekkid said:
People don't price shop for medical services because they don't think they're paying for it. They think "insurance" is paying for it. So the actual consumer is almost blind to the cost (outside the occasional "What's my portion gonna be?" . . . which is really just a question about their insurance benefits/copay/max out-of-pocket/etc).
When this happens facilities charge random, high prices, and insurance rates go up and up. Throw in the extremely litigious nature of American society, and health care "costs" go up enormously.
I say this as someone who is in the healthcare industry, and who (prior to owning my business) was an attorney in the medical malpractice defense world.
Waco1947 said:Doc Holliday said:Drug and service costs.Waco1947 said:. I Understand how competition works in car buying and burgers but how does it work on a personal patient basis?Doc Holliday said:Think about it:Waco1947 said:How does one create competition? Is that on me to search out price? Why do I see billboards that say "Come to my hospital?" I don't choose my hospital; my doctor does. How does one create competition?Doc Holliday said:Because there is no damn competition.Waco1947 said:
I am asking a larger question. Why rising health costs - doctors, hospitals, insurance companies.?
On what planet would you walk into a burger shop, order a burger and then have them tell you the price of the burger? It could be a $5 burger or a $200 burger.
That's how our current health care system works.
If you want to buy a car, you can look online, you can search prices, you can haggle prices etc.
Let me show you a scenario where competition lowers costs:
Dealership 1: Car is $30k
Dealership 2: This dealership wants business so they drop the price of the same car that dealer 1 has by $3k for $27K.
That's competition driving prices down. It's why capitalism is the greatest economic foundation that we know of.
If you want competition, you take the government out of the picture and let the free market drive down prices. Anyone who wants a piece of the pie will have to lower their prices to steal market share.
You don't know how much an x ray is, but if you were aware and could choose anyone, you would pick whoever is offering the lowest price.
Apply this same logic to virtually everything in healthcare.
1. I had knee replacement surgery.
My orthopedic doctor was a member of my church. He said "You need a knee transplant but I don't do knees. See the guy down the hall."
2. I go to the doctor down hall "You need a knee replacement but I need a heart stress test and lung X-ray and your primary Dr to sign off that you're healthy enough."
3. I did it all and went to who they recommended.
4. I did the surgery. A huge success. I got my mobility back.
5. Medicare sent me some kind of statement that the estimated cost would be $67,000!
6. My first thought was ain't going to waste the taxpayers money. I'll do my rehab and return to my Habitat for Humanity volunteer work.
7. I asked the doctor at my 6 month exam. "Did it cost $67,000 for my knee and how much went to you?"
Dr: "I don't know. I work on contract and whether I do 1 or 5 replacements a week I get the same amount of money."
8. At what point do I negotiate?
How would you Doc negotiate that process?
Doc Holliday said:I would eliminate this process completely.Waco1947 said:Doc Holliday said:Drug and service costs.Waco1947 said:. I Understand how competition works in car buying and burgers but how does it work on a personal patient basis?Doc Holliday said:Think about it:Waco1947 said:How does one create competition? Is that on me to search out price? Why do I see billboards that say "Come to my hospital?" I don't choose my hospital; my doctor does. How does one create competition?Doc Holliday said:Because there is no damn competition.Waco1947 said:
I am asking a larger question. Why rising health costs - doctors, hospitals, insurance companies.?
On what planet would you walk into a burger shop, order a burger and then have them tell you the price of the burger? It could be a $5 burger or a $200 burger.
That's how our current health care system works.
If you want to buy a car, you can look online, you can search prices, you can haggle prices etc.
Let me show you a scenario where competition lowers costs:
Dealership 1: Car is $30k
Dealership 2: This dealership wants business so they drop the price of the same car that dealer 1 has by $3k for $27K.
That's competition driving prices down. It's why capitalism is the greatest economic foundation that we know of.
If you want competition, you take the government out of the picture and let the free market drive down prices. Anyone who wants a piece of the pie will have to lower their prices to steal market share.
You don't know how much an x ray is, but if you were aware and could choose anyone, you would pick whoever is offering the lowest price.
Apply this same logic to virtually everything in healthcare.
1. I had knee replacement surgery.
My orthopedic doctor was a member of my church. He said "You need a knee transplant but I don't do knees. See the guy down the hall."
2. I go to the doctor down hall "You need a knee replacement but I need a heart stress test and lung X-ray and your primary Dr to sign off that you're healthy enough."
3. I did it all and went to who they recommended.
4. I did the surgery. A huge success. I got my mobility back.
5. Medicare sent me some kind of statement that the estimated cost would be $67,000!
6. My first thought was ain't going to waste the taxpayers money. I'll do my rehab and return to my Habitat for Humanity volunteer work.
7. I asked the doctor at my 6 month exam. "Did it cost $67,000 for my knee and how much went to you?"
Dr: "I don't know. I work on contract and whether I do 1 or 5 replacements a week I get the same amount of money."
8. At what point do I negotiate?
How would you Doc negotiate that process?
Your doc says you need a knee surgery and you can then shop around knowing the price being offered for the service prior to anything being done.
in theory yes, but you use the combination of highly recommended physicians at the best rates. For "the best knee replacement surgeon in Waco" you may could get a really good one that isn't the best for thousands cheaper.Waco1947 said:
Trey said "Aka "Go see my buddy down the hall since I helped invest in his practice/pays part of the rent for the building I own/you won't argue because I go to your church"
It's Hillcrest Waco. I assume that the administrators have hired the best at the best contract price. And secondarily my insurance is PPO.
How would you personally do it?
Is the bottom line if more patients bargain hunt then prices come down? What about the quality of the physician?
Some people will spend 30 min looking up restaurants on Yelp but never take a min to research their doctor.trey3216 said:in theory yes, but you use the combination of highly recommended physicians at the best rates. For "the best knee replacement surgeon in Waco" you may could get a really good one that isn't the best for thousands cheaper.Waco1947 said:
Trey said "Aka "Go see my buddy down the hall since I helped invest in his practice/pays part of the rent for the building I own/you won't argue because I go to your church"
It's Hillcrest Waco. I assume that the administrators have hired the best at the best contract price. And secondarily my insurance is PPO.
How would you personally do it?
Is the bottom line if more patients bargain hunt then prices come down? What about the quality of the physician?
Mine was under contract. He was paid monthly not by the number of surgeries. Plus what about complications? What hospital quality? Nursing quality? I am not smart enough to know all the questions to ask. I have 3 degrees and can somewhat navigate the system because as a pastor I helped many patients do it.trey3216 said:in theory yes, but you use the combination of highly recommended physicians at the best rates. For "the best knee replacement surgeon in Waco" you may could get a really good one that isn't the best for thousands cheaper.Waco1947 said:
Trey said "Aka "Go see my buddy down the hall since I helped invest in his practice/pays part of the rent for the building I own/you won't argue because I go to your church"
It's Hillcrest Waco. I assume that the administrators have hired the best at the best contract price. And secondarily my insurance is PPO.
How would you personally do it?
Is the bottom line if more patients bargain hunt then prices come down? What about the quality of the physician?