All that technology for reporting and billing systems and they still cannot quickly and easily tell me how much treatment is going to cost, aside from the initial “co-pay”. USA of course.
Last time I was in, the provider recommended I get a specific blood test. I asked her if she, or someone at the office, could find out approximately how much that was going to cost me out of pocket. It was around a 30 to 45 minute circus show of a process and at the end, the best they could tell me was “this test is usually in the $800 to $1,000 range, and we don’t know how much of that your insurance covers.” So, at least I got an upper bound of cost (kind of), I guess.
because the cost is determined by the insurance company, not the service provider.
different patience get different costs based on their insurance. costs are wildly different depending on the location, the provider, etc. a mri at one hospital can cost your $500, at another a mile away it can be $5000.
there really isn’t ‘flat pricing’ in medical care. pricing is basically negotiated for each patient at the time of the procedure, and often retroactively changed.
All that technology for reporting and billing systems and they still cannot quickly and easily tell me how much treatment is going to cost, aside from the initial “co-pay”. USA of course.
Last time I was in, the provider recommended I get a specific blood test. I asked her if she, or someone at the office, could find out approximately how much that was going to cost me out of pocket. It was around a 30 to 45 minute circus show of a process and at the end, the best they could tell me was “this test is usually in the $800 to $1,000 range, and we don’t know how much of that your insurance covers.” So, at least I got an upper bound of cost (kind of), I guess.
because the cost is determined by the insurance company, not the service provider.
different patience get different costs based on their insurance. costs are wildly different depending on the location, the provider, etc. a mri at one hospital can cost your $500, at another a mile away it can be $5000.
there really isn’t ‘flat pricing’ in medical care. pricing is basically negotiated for each patient at the time of the procedure, and often retroactively changed.