[buckalfa]

Price does not equal what you and/or your insurance carrier pay. Transparency is good, but this regulation has the potential of creating more confusion unless insurance interfaces are built into the data base and the consumer has some modicum of medical terminology.

[Openurmind]

The terminology has been an issue since way back when hospitals actually presented itemized bills. What good it did, they were in a totally different language.

Everything universally number coded and a layman’s translation app maybe?

[Chickensoup]

the most honest pricing would be for the insurance companies to price out what they will pay for each procedure and what is your responsibility instead of the coy we dont know...

[outofsalt]

In the middle of a surgery that has had complications will they wake the patient to explain, “We have done all that we can do for the price that we discussed”?

[DungeonMaster]

Howmuchyagot?

[LegendHasIt]

I kinda like this idea, although compliance is going to make everything cost more, just like with every other government regulation.

But....They will still find a hundred ways to ‘pad the bill’, and every person who does pay out of their own pocket will be shocked at the amount, even if they did look up the prices beforehand.

And most people won’t care anyway, because either they have insurance and a fixed deductible, or are not planning to pay anything anyway.

[Truthoverpower]

Don’t ever go to a hospital unless you break something or have cancer

[sitetest]

A small step forward.

As health care providers figure out they can make better margins by increasing transparency and encouraging direct payment in cash or by credit card, hopefully they will:

- offer a public cash price that excludes most of the cost of dealing with the insurance company in the middle;

- do the necessary work to figure out the entire cost of a treatment so that they can offer complete treatment pricing (”appendectomy: $1500” vs. “hospital room: $300; OR: $460; surgeon: $795; anesthesiologist: $500; Oxycontin: $25; Tylenol: $12; etc., etc. etc.);

- arrange low-cost short-term financing.

I’ve seen this already in very limited circumstances.

I go to a concierge doctor; I pay a quarterly amount, my visits are included, a comprehensive, 3-appointment once a year check-up, and a variety of routine vaccinations are covered.

Similarly, I have a lot of eye treatments, and not all of them are covered by insurance. Those not covered by insurance have a simple, single all-inclusive price, and can be financed for up to two years at no interest.