The nation’s hospital industry warned President-elect Donald Trump and congressional leaders on Tuesday that repealing the Affordable Care Act could cost hospitals $165 billion by the middle of the next decade and trigger “an unprecedented public health crisis.”
The two main trade groups for U.S. hospitals dispatched a letter to the incoming president and Capitol Hill’s top four leaders, saying that the government should help hospitals avoid massive financial losses if the law is rescinded in a way that causes a surge of uninsured patients.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national ... c4e78af0ab
Big Tex if I completely read this wrong please correct me.
On the costs charged by hospitals.
Many years back I had to have an umbilical hernia fixed. The doc after learning I was uninsured at the time,said I'll fix you up for $125.00, now go pay for the operating room.
We sat down with the admitting lady, per the doctors orders for service, she said it would be $10,000 for the operating room. Who is your insurer? Told her we were self pay and she immediately changed the price to $5000.00, and we agreed to it. Upon reflection probably could have gotten it down from there.
As an aside an old DD member called me a liar and said it was against the law for a hospital to negotiate a price.
Fast forward to last year about this time. Since I now an old fossil and am on medicare I'm insured.Sciatica flare up put me down to the point all I could do was lie down. The doc ordered an MRI to pinpoint were to stick the needle in, and sends me to the hospital for the scan.Medicare ponied up the entire cost.
Now four weeks ago major pain in my shoulder and arm, same doc orders an x-ray, takes a look at it and says the arthritis in my neck is the issue and an MRI is needed. I asked him if there was an alternative to the $7000.00 hospital test and I was sent to a stand alone testing place. The charge there was $500.00.
Now I mention all of this because it's no secret that hospitals negotiate prices with insurers and the .gov through medicare medicaid, etc.
I'm a pretty simple guy and to my simple mind the hospital is ripping off payers to insure a profit to pay for non-insured patients. OK I'm not against profit I am against being held up.
My operating room bill, if billed through an insurance plan would have covered two operating rooms, and probably more if my cost analysis is correct.
The MRI at seven grand would have paid for 14.
My point is that my belief is that hospitals are over billing enough and that some real cost analysis needs to be done in order for everyone to be able to make a profit and government cost can be brought down in order to provide care for those who truly need assistance. Last time I checked an aspirin purchased from a hospital cost enough to buy 1000 from a wholesaler.
