I hear this a lot but I don't see people explaining what exactly their desired outcome looks like, and to me, I can see lots of ways it potentially changes things without actually improving them.
Are you picturing a world where before you call an ambulance after injuring yourself you have to get on something like yelp to look at prices for 10 different ambulance services, and ten different local urgent care or ERs? Are you picturing a world where it's obvious that some surgeons and doctors are 10 times better than others, so the rich pay $$$$$$ for 10x better care, and the poor are left with the scraps? Or a world where it's hard to tell, so people compete on price alone, and the doctors who care most about outcomes vs bottom line are at a disadvantage?
When I take myself to the doctor no one can tell me how much anything costs.
Regardless of insurance status the vet gets paid the same amount.
My pets get better healthcare then I do and I pay less for it and they don’t have insurance. I’m relatively healthy, my cat has FIV. I have insurance my pets don’t.
Not an American so asking out of curiosity - don't hospitals have price lists?
If you're well insured, you still get all the fun reading material, but they say "amount you owe: 0.00"
When my wife was first pregnant, we had health insurance amd we picked a hospital whose business was 50% baby delivery.
Not a single person could tell me how much it would cost to deliver the child. The OBG couldn't tell me. My health Insurance couldn't tell me. The hospital couldn't tell me. I know - for a fact - the hospital had delivered babies from other people with my insurance. They couldn't tell me the cost of a delivery.
Also, someone screwed something up and I was improperly charged for a hearing test. SMH.
While it's a step in the right direction, most people don't know about it, the accuracy is questionable, what insurance will cover isn't clear, and what random additional fees will be added are unknown.
https://healthcareexecintelligence.healthitanalytics.com/new...
Because the federal government insures the poor and old, the law requires that they get the best pricing. So every other insurer pays a little more, until you get to an uninsured person, who pays some unfathomable rate.
Isn't this the case already?
I mean, it could probably be worse, but I doubt Bill Gates will go to the same clinic that I do.