The stunning truth about healthcare pricing [View all]
Sun May 27, 2012 at 11:18 AM PDT
The stunning truth about healthcare pricing
by Deep Harm
A story in today's LA Times describes in rare detail why US healthcare is insanely expensive. It's not due to malpractice lawsuits, patients who expect too much, high-tech medicine or burdensome regulations. No, it's the result of insurance industry bureaucracy and greed. While many consumers have long suspected that, hard evidence has been elusive. Now, an investigation by the Los Angeles Times has turned up that hard evidence.
Evidence shows that healthcare costs are arbitrary and capricious.
The LA Times article, "Healthcare's High Cost: Many hospitals, doctors offer cash discount for medical bills," [link:]http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-medical-prices-20120527,0,4627745.story provides data showing that healthcare costs are neither realistic nor consistent. Americans purchase insurance with the expectation of getting reduced out-of-pocket healthcare costs, but instead pay more than they would if they just paid cash--sometimes, much, much more. Example:
Los Alamitos Medical Center, for instance, lists a CT scan of the abdomen on a state website for $4,423. Blue Shield says its negotiated rate at the hospital is about $2,400.
When The Times called for a cash price, the hospital said it was $250. (LATimes)
Similar cost disparities exist at other hospitals, according to the Los Angeles Times and Dr. David Belk, MD, and insurance companies pocket the difference.
Healthcare reforms passed in the Obama administration require hospitals to disclose their standard charges, i.e., list prices. But, only a sucker pays the list price. The real cost of medical procedures remains hidden to most consumers.
The insurance industry can make exorbitant demands because it has full control of healthcare...
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/27/1095159/-The-stunning-truth-about-healthcare-pricing
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