Re:PET scans show many Alzheimer’s patients may not actually...
by narrator on Wednesday August 02, 2017 @11:23PM
(#14916734)
Doesn't at Kaiser either. You just get all that stuff under a single line item "Emergency Room visit Level 2: $650". Funny how that happens when the hospital and the insurance are the same company.
Re:PET scans show many Alzheimer’s patients may not actually...
by mirimir on Wednesday August 02, 2017 @10:32PM
(#14916507)
Indeed. In the US, it does because manufacturers have gamed the system. Through bundled contracting with hospitals etc, for example.
Re:PET scans show many Alzheimer’s patients may not actually...
by maxerickson on Thursday August 03, 2017 @08:40AM
(#14918998)
Hospitals pay a couple dollars for IV saline.
In fact, manufacturers are required to report such prices annually to the federal government, which bases Medicare payments on the average national price plus 6 percent. The limit for one liter of normal saline (a little more than a quart) went to $1.07 this year from 46 cents in 2010, an increase manufacturers linked to the cost of raw materials, fuel and transportation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/27/health/exploring-salines-s...
(which implies that manufacturers aren't the primary beneficiaries of the price that the hospitals charge)
Re:PET scans show many Alzheimer’s patients may not actually...
by mirimir on Thursday August 03, 2017 @08:16PM
(#14925289)
Thanks. It does seem that, in this case, it's hospitals that are inflating costs. But even so, this is the Medicare reimbursement price. Maybe hospitals are "paying" cash price for saline, with a rebate on some product bundle, which doesn't get allocated properly to their cost basis for saline.
It doesn't outside of the US.