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+--- Thread: Is your local hospital ripping you off?; if you live in Florida the answer may be yes! (/showthread.php?tid=179933)
Is your local hospital ripping you off?; if you live in Florida the answer may be yes! - RgrF - 06-09-2015
These are the 50 hospitals in the United States with the highest markup of prices over their actual costs. That means that they are charging out-of-network patients and the uninsured, as well as auto and workers’ compensation insurers, more than 10 times the costs allowed by Medicare, according to new research published Monday. Read related article. wrote:
food for thought from WaPo
Re: Is your local hospital ripping you off; if you live in Florida the answer may be yes! - WHiiP - 06-09-2015
At least the two hospitals that I use are NOT on that list.
Thanks for the post!
Re: Is your local hospital ripping you off?; if you live in Florida the answer may be yes! - Kraniac - 06-09-2015
The New York Times did an example piece in hospitals all over the country..cost of a stitch(es). E-Room stuff.
It becomes pretty compelling when they start going into the mark ups on every little thing and then more so when they start comparing our prices to pricing around the world..it's gross.
New York Times - Cost of a Stitch
Re: Is your local hospital ripping you off; if you live in Florida the answer may be yes! - mrlynn - 06-09-2015
The assumption in the article is that the fees Medicare pays are the "actual costs" of the care. That is not necessarily or even often the case. They often can be much less.
In our small primary-care office, we billed at the highest amount that commercial insurance paid, which was often many times what Medicare (not to mention Medicaid) would pay. What we actually received from the payors were contractually-adjusted payments, usually a fraction of what we billed; we wrote off the difference (as small fry, we had no control over the contracts, which were negotiated by larger entities). For self-pay patients, we either downcoded the visit, or applied a discount, or both, to bring them into line with Medicare fees (Medicare would not allow us to charge less than Medicare!).
I assume the hospital situation is similar, except they also have to deal with the patients who enjoy free care; they know the ER can't turn them away, so they just blow off the bills.
It's a big, complex issue, which is woefully misrepresented by this Post article. Ultimately, IMO, the culprit is third-party payment, which makes hash of the marketplace, but there are many other factors at play, too many to go into here.
/Mr Lynn
Re: Is your local hospital ripping you off?; if you live in Florida the answer may be yes! - Fritz - 06-09-2015
http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,20130304,00.html
this one is really incredible.
Re: Is your local hospital ripping you off?; if you live in Florida the answer may be yes! - Kraniac - 06-09-2015
I think ultimately the problem is that hospitals just plain charge to much money for everything..they are to fancy (cosmetically) and their main concern is in making lots and lots of money..this would include all of the ancillary businesses that feed off of hospitals..(duh, pharmaceuticals is the big ugly one)
..health care should be there to keep the tribe healthy, non-stressed, and ready for work..it's about keeping the people in a nation ready to go forth and kick ass..We have it so ass backward in the US in so many ways....it's alarmingly pathetic.
Re: Is your local hospital ripping you off?; if you live in Florida the answer may be yes! - mrbigstuff - 06-09-2015
Kraniac wrote:
I think ultimately the problem is that hospitals just plain charge to much money for everything..they are to fancy (cosmetically) and their main concern is in making lots and lots of money..this would include all of the ancillary businesses that feed off of hospitals..(duh, pharmaceuticals is the big ugly one)
..health care should be there to keep the tribe healthy, non-stressed, and ready for work..it's about keeping the people in a nation ready to go forth and kick ass..We have it so ass backward in the US in so many ways....it's alarmingly pathetic.
ah, don't worry, there's a pill for that.
Re: Is your local hospital ripping you off?; if you live in Florida the answer may be yes! - cbelt3 - 06-09-2015
mrlynn has it... the 'bill' everyone gets is screamingly complicated, hideously pricey, and completely meaningless.
Why ?
Laws. Regulations. Political Complexities. Business complexities produced by interlocking unrelated 'systems' that can't or won't talk to each other or even speak the same language. Every time a politician says " I'm going to write a law to SAVE you money" they mean "I'm going to write a law to force you to pay for a lot of bureaucrats."
And the people who actually provide the care ? They hate it. They want to practice medicine, not deal with insurance companies and government Bovine Feces.
Re: Is your local hospital ripping you off?; if you live in Florida the answer may be yes! - Black - 06-09-2015
cbelt3 wrote:(tu)
mrlynn has it... the 'bill' everyone gets is screamingly complicated, hideously pricey, and completely meaningless.
Why ?
Laws. Regulations. Political Complexities. Business complexities produced by interlocking unrelated 'systems' that can't or won't talk to each other or even speak the same language. Every time a politician says " I'm going to write a law to SAVE you money" they mean "I'm going to write a law to force you to pay for a lot of bureaucrats."
And the people who actually provide the care ? They hate it. They want to practice medicine, not deal with insurance companies and government Bovine Feces.
Re: Is your local hospital ripping you off?; if you live in Florida the answer may be yes! - Black - 06-09-2015
Kraniac wrote:Every hospital I've ever worked at has been all about money-- as in enough money to keep from having to shut its doors.
I think ultimately the problem is that hospitals just plain charge to much money for everything..they are to fancy (cosmetically) and their main concern is in making lots and lots of money..