15 charts showing US health care prices are totally insane

http://www.vox.com/cards/health-prices/america-is-getting-gouged-on-health-care-prices

by alok-g • 12 years ago

7 15 12 years ago

vox.com

chrisBob• 12 years ago

Which prices are those? When I go to the doctor I get an insurance statement that says something like:

Billed: $800

Paid by insurance: $200

You owe: $0

AmVess• 12 years ago

Not everyone has insurance, and not not all insurance is good.

alok-g2• 12 years ago

I am not sure, but looking at some of the prices that I have experienced myself, it's the amount paid by insurance.

analog312• 12 years ago

Not knowing what things cost is one of the reasons why we pay so much. I don't care to know the cost myself, but _nobody_ can figure out the cost structure of our system.

alok-g2• 12 years ago

At least in one case I experienced, the staff at the hospital was having the same difficulty, unsurprisingly actually.

stormqloud3• 12 years ago

Now you know how your insurance company makes so much money.

They pay $200 for a service you think costs $800 and WILL cost you $800 if you buy it yourself.

You buy insurance based on the FULL cost of the procedure. If you could access $200 yourself you wouldn;t need insurance. You can self insure at these prices.

For the benefit of running the "self insurance" plan they are taking the difference between $200 and $800

Anyone else have a company and know what usual profit margins are? Your local pharmacy is lucky to pull off 35%.

This is 400% markup that a "retail" person pays over the insurance company.

It's not hard to make money when you buy at $200 and sell at $500-600-700 through an insurance policy.

This is how companies like AIG (anybody remember them) buy things like ski hills for their executives.

See www.stowe.com

Americas are building up the next generation of their royalty.

Companies with a mission in "health care" that mae 400% margins and buy ski hills for their executuves to use on "retreats".

Yup, that makes total sense, to a lobbyist, lawyer or other enemy of the public and democracy.

Crony capitalism, not true capitalism and market economy that people think of in the USA.

The insurance companies got a major windfall with Obamacare. That lobbying really worked out.

He could has just as easily allowed Medicare/Caid to negotiate prices and take over mre of the health care.

That wouldn;t give jobs to people that Obama really cares about. North east Liberal lawyers.

maxerickson• 12 years ago

Under the ACA, when the insurance company pays a hospital (or any other medical provider) $200, it is allowed to spend $50 (less for larger programs) on salaries and profits and other expenses.

If it gets $300 of premiums and only spends $200 on medical care, it has to send the extra $50 back to the customers (larger programs have to send back $65).

More here:

http://kff.org/health-reform/perspective/beyond-rebates-how-...

_wp3r• 12 years ago

Anyone know how Vox created the highlighter effect on text select? It is not just a color change.

fallinghawks• 12 years ago

And how much of these costs are being "invisibly" paid to a national healthcare service via taxes?

matt__rose• 12 years ago

In Canada's case, 100%. I have seen one hospital bill, and that was $200 for a single room when my wife gave birth to my son. Which my supplementary insurance then paid. It is the only time I've ever even had to use my work insurance plan.

stormqloud3• 12 years ago

Insurance companies negotiate discounts so they make massive profits.

Hospitals negotiate discounts so they can make massive profits.

The govt makes it illegal for medicare/caid to negotiate prices or buy in bulk.

This is a massive transfer of wealth from the public to these companies.

The average citizen cannot negotiate and pays full price.

The people least able to afford the "retail" price pay the most.

Meanwhile the insurance companies/hospitals are making money hand over fist to pay out to their CEO's.

It's simply a scam of legislation that is unlikely to end because the people that benefit the most also have access to the most profit and can therefore affords the most lobbying.

A bunch of lawyers, CEO's and politicians arn;t going to change the system for a bunch of poor folk.

How do you expect them to send their kids to Harvard or pay for the shell companies needed to hide income?

zamnedix• 12 years ago

Breaking news: The healthcare system in the US is broken.

carlosrt• 12 years ago

There's ~3 hospitals in the USA that have transparent pricing.

If you're interested in disrupting healthcare the founder of The Surgery Center of Oklahoma has a blog on pricing transparency. http://surgerycenterofoklahoma.tumblr.com/

Some additional resources:

Free Market Medical Association website. http://marketmedicine.org/members/ It lists all the resources and providers that provide transparent pricing.

The Pricing Healthcare Blog and Pricing Healthcare website is a crowd sourcing project where patients can input their medical bills and get the cash price of procedures in their area. (The CEO of Safeway started a company with Safeway's similar, proprietary, data, however they only sell the pricing data to companies with ~10,000+ employees).

The Self Pay Patient is a blog and resource for those that choose to self insure: http://selfpaypatient.com/

The Health Care Blue Book lists the price insurance companies have negotiated with providers: https://www.healthcarebluebook.com

Source: http://www.quora.com/What-health-care-providers-in-the-USA-o...

15 charts showing US health care prices are totally insane

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