why do hospitals charge $4000 for a $250 cat scan?
-
Gblockhttp://news.yahoo.com/why-hospitals-charge-4-423-250-ct-scans-034342269.html;_ylt=Aq9dogNr_NH2R.ORA4t2BbW1qHQA;_ylu=X3oDMTQxZnRyMnRkBG1pdANNb3N0UG9wdWxhciBMaXN0aW5nBHBrZwM1YWRjNzNkYS03YjcxLTM2MTEtYjdhNC1mMzVmNjU3Nzg0MjUEcG9zAzMxBHNlYwNNb3N0IFBvcHVsYXIEdmVyAzAzOTM4ODAwLWE5OWYtMTFlMS1iZmZmLWNiNDBlMDU0ODBhYQ--;_ylg=X3oDMTFlamZvM2ZlBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdAMEcHQDc2VjdGlvbnM-;_ylv=3
hospitals and insurance companies are def crooks. -
Commander of Awesome
scumbags for sure. -
THE4RINGZ
This can be summed up with two rhyming words....need and greed. -
Rotinaj
How is a Doctor supposed to pay off student loans if they arent making $400 an hour? -
Commander of Awesome
After reading about your weekend, I see why this is on your mind.
-
Gblock
lol...i only went to the urgent care but repsCommander of Awesome;1184481 wrote:After reading about your weekend, I see why this is on your mind. -
Belly35
How big was the cat
-
jmogTo be honest, there are two major causes of this.
1. Government run health insurance (Medicare/Medicaid) refuses to pay what a procedure actually costs. They set their own prices and tell the hospital what they are going to pay. The difference is made up by those of us with our own health insurance.
2. People who have no health insurance at all and never pay for the procedure. This loss is made up for by those of us who have private health insurance. -
ZWICK 4 PREZ
jmog;1184494 wrote:To be honest, there are two major causes of this.
1. Government run health insurance (Medicare/Medicaid) refuses to pay what a procedure actually costs. They set their own prices and tell the hospital what they are going to pay. The difference is made up by those of us with our own health insurance.
2. People who have no health insurance at all and never pay for the procedure. This loss is made up for by those of us who have private health insurance.
While the two you mentioned are certainly culprits for the rise in cost, ignoring the fact that it's marked up exponentially b/c they can and you can't do anything about it is also a driving force. -
Sykotyk
How much lower than $250 could the government be mandating the price of a CT scan?jmog;1184494 wrote:To be honest, there are two major causes of this.
1. Government run health insurance (Medicare/Medicaid) refuses to pay what a procedure actually costs. They set their own prices and tell the hospital what they are going to pay. The difference is made up by those of us with our own health insurance.
2. People who have no health insurance at all and never pay for the procedure. This loss is made up for by those of us who have private health insurance.
The problem is people with no insurance waiting and waiting and waiting when their health declines to finally see a doctor. Then, they get care (as after all, Bush said we all have universal healthcare, we can just go to the ER), and no ability to pay. So, guess where the hospital makes up the money. On the insurance companies contracted to the hospitals to pay certain rates for care. -
FatHobbit
So the rising cost of medical care is all Bush's fault?Sykotyk;1184517 wrote: (as after all, Bush said we all have universal healthcare, we can just go to the ER) -
sleeper
If there's anything I've learned from Obama, it's blame someone else for any issue or problem.FatHobbit;1184537 wrote:So the rising cost of medical care is all Bush's fault?
Enjoy! -
Sonofanump
So you are telling me that people have to make up the cost for those who don’t pay for goods or services? It’s not free? Can’t the government just print more money to pay for it? The government should have an endless supply of money. If the government needs more money that can take from the producers and give to those who produce nothing. That should work just fine.</SPAN>jmog;1184494 wrote:To be honest, there are two major causes of this.
1. Government run health insurance (Medicare/Medicaid) refuses to pay what a procedure actually costs. They set their own prices and tell the hospital what they are going to pay. The difference is made up by those of us with our own health insurance.
2. People who have no health insurance at all and never pay for the procedure. This loss is made up for by those of us who have private health insurance.
/FDR</SPAN> -
FatHobbit
It's funny to me, because my mom is a nurse and she blames Hillary Clinton. I'm not sure exactly why, but she did something when Bill was president and my mom claims that ever since then, insurance takes priority over patient care. But it's typical that the Repubs blame the Dems and the Dems blame the Repubs. They are more interested in taking credit/assigning blame than actually solving the problem.sleeper;1184551 wrote:If there's anything I've learned from Obama, it's blame someone else for any issue or problem.
Enjoy! -
martyirish
overcharge those who pay to take care of the bills for those who don't pay. -
sleeper
#AmericaFatHobbit;1184560 wrote:It's funny to me, because my mom is a nurse and she blames Hillary Clinton. I'm not sure exactly why, but she did something when Bill was president and my mom claims that ever since then, insurance takes priority over patient care. But it's typical that the Repubs blame the Dems and the Dems blame the Repubs. They are more interested in taking credit/assigning blame than actually solving the problem. -
Cat Food Flambe'
.martyirish;1184589 wrote:overcharge those who pay to take care of the bills for those who don't pay.
That's exactly what happens.
The money has to come from somewhere - doctors, nurses, technicians, and those who support them don't work for free. Medical equipment manufacturers don't donate all those million-dollar-plus scanners, and the drug companies aren't in the habit of giving away their products, either.
We have socialized health care coverage right now - we just have a different cash flow than we would under a single-payer or nationalized health pool. Medicare reimbursement is basically a break-even proposition for providers, and Medicaid pays 50%-65% of the cost of providing care. Hospitals also write off 25% or more of their "off the street" billings as bad debt. That leaves employer/Taft-Hartley -based insurance plans and self-pay procedures to make up the rest.
I heard an ad for the James Cancer center on the radio the other day - "Why settle for a 'routine' mammogram? You want a JAMES mammogram." The problem is that the James Cancer Center (and their associated physicians) typically negotiate a contract with the insurance carriers that is about 20-25% higher than than the other facilities in the Columbus area, as the services they typically provide are not available elsewhere in the community (Pediatric hospitals do this as well). When they can run "routine services" service through on this contract, their profit margin is much higher than if they patient had gone next door to the OSU facilities.
We all (myself included) want the very best health care available out there when we need it (and sometimes when we don't) - but someone has to pay for it somewhere, somehow. -
cruiser_96
Even if we have insurance, can we - if needed - walk in, make known the fact that we want to pay cash for procedure, have the scan/procedure/whatever done, pay and walk out??? -
sleeper
No. Although there might be some doctors offices that do accept cash as payment.cruiser_96;1184612 wrote:Even if we have insurance, can we - if needed - walk in, make known the fact that we want to pay cash for procedure, have the scan/procedure/whatever done, pay and walk out??? -
redstreak one
I cut my finger at work in 2001 as a bartender on a broke beer bottle. I went to Adena urgent care. It took 5 stitches and workmans comp picked it up. The final cost was $350. 4 weeks later at home washing a glass, it breaks and I cut the exact same finger just above the old cut. Went to same urgent care, it took 5 stitches as well and same exact treatment. No insurance, paid cash, $250. -
FatHobbit
I work for an insurance company and we've had Dr's call us after they have been paid and re-bill us at a different rate depending on the PPO network the patient is with. We've also looked at procedure's for different clients in different areas/networks and found some procedures that cost $100 in one area and $4500 in another. (IMO it's not much different than buying a tv at best buy or walmart. The price is different but you have to look at the size of the tv, the brand and the specs.)redstreak one;1184631 wrote:I cut my finger at work in 2001 as a bartender on a broke beer bottle. I went to Adena urgent care. It took 5 stitches and workmans comp picked it up. The final cost was $350. 4 weeks later at home washing a glass, it breaks and I cut the exact same finger just above the old cut. Went to same urgent care, it took 5 stitches as well and same exact treatment. No insurance, paid cash, $250. -
cruiser_96
Fundamental flaw in this... FORGET WAL-MART!!!!!!!!!!FatHobbit;1184637 wrote:...(IMO it's not much different than buying a tv at best buy or walmart. ...
#JustSayin 
-
redstreak one
Except you know the price up front at those stores!FatHobbit;1184637 wrote:I work for an insurance company and we've had Dr's call us after they have been paid and re-bill us at a different rate depending on the PPO network the patient is with. We've also looked at procedure's for different clients in different areas/networks and found some procedures that cost $100 in one area and $4500 in another. (IMO it's not much different than buying a tv at best buy or walmart. The price is different but you have to look at the size of the tv, the brand and the specs.) -
Cat Food Flambe'
On the contrary - this is quite common: In fact, this is SOP for cosmetic surgeries, "borderline" medical necessity cases, and for persons who are financially well off enough to not need anything but "disaster" health insurance (the tax deductions are more valuable in these cases). Many, many providers, including hospitals, will give you a flat rate price that's close to the insurance price in these instances. In addition, there is a great deal of "offshore business" that comes to the USA under these arrangements.sleeper;1184617 wrote:No. Although there might be some doctors offices that do accept cash as payment.