Re:Medicare will require hospitals to post prices online
by DisposableMike on Wednesday April 25, 2018 @03:33PM
(#16925207)
How complicated/extensive was this procedure? I have requested prices for many procedures and only once have I received that information (and like I said in another comment, I received a discount for paying it in full at the time of service). Every other time, every single person I talked to said "I can't give you that information" or "I honestly don't know".
Re:Medicare will require hospitals to post prices online
by matwood on Wednesday April 25, 2018 @03:47PM
(#16925338)
Not too complicated I would imagine, but it was an MRI, doctor visits, and back injections. One place in town laughed when I called and ask for pricing, and when I said I wanted to pay cash they hung up. So it definitely takes some asking around.
When I had knee surgery years ago, and had good insurance at the time, I asked the doctor about the price just to see. He was quick to say if I wanted/needed to pay cash he could work something out.
So they are out there, but you might have to do some digging.
And again, emergency situations are a completely different beast.
In emergency situations this is hard to do, but I've done it numerous times when needing non-emergency health care. I even call around asking about prices and the cash discount. Oddly enough, a co-worker and I both had the same procedure (back issues ugh) last year at the same doctor. He used his insurance, and I asked about and went the cash route. I ended up paying less for the exact same thing because of how his deductibles worked.
It was the end of the year and I guessed I would not hit my yearly deductible so paying cash was the right move.