Health care costs do not have to be so high. My buddy Brian got his hip replaced for $12,000 and only paid $100 out-of-pocket. But we need to stop allowing what we spend to be squandered.
I think your newsletter really helps people to know what to report. I just spoke to a friend about what her son needed and she said she has to meet her 9,000 out of pocket before her insurance will pay for anything. She doesn’t know how she is going to ever cover that. I was appalled when my brother told me he had the same kind of insurance. It is called high-deductible insurance. It is the only insurance her employer provides. I told her about looking into the cash price but the hospital told her that they do not provide cash prices. I told her that was illegal. Now I can forward your newsletter to her and let her know the hospital is wrong. They HAVE to give you the cash price.
Yes, those high deductibles are quite common. That's a massive burden for your friend! The Hospital Price Transparency Final Rule requires hospitals to post their cash prices. The cash/self-pay prices are often better than the insured prices, so it's good to check. Also, it's somewhat common for health care providers to say insured patients are not allowed to pay cash. That's not true. I wrote a column about it: https://marshallallen.substack.com/p/yes-you-can-pay-cash-for-health-care. I hope your friend can shop around and get a better deal. Perhaps she can get the service she needs for her son outside of a hospital, where it would be less expensive?
Thank you so much for being such an empowering force in the wilderness of our inadequate health care "system"!
Thank you for the nice comment, Leanne! I appreciate the encouragement!
I think your newsletter really helps people to know what to report. I just spoke to a friend about what her son needed and she said she has to meet her 9,000 out of pocket before her insurance will pay for anything. She doesn’t know how she is going to ever cover that. I was appalled when my brother told me he had the same kind of insurance. It is called high-deductible insurance. It is the only insurance her employer provides. I told her about looking into the cash price but the hospital told her that they do not provide cash prices. I told her that was illegal. Now I can forward your newsletter to her and let her know the hospital is wrong. They HAVE to give you the cash price.
Yes, those high deductibles are quite common. That's a massive burden for your friend! The Hospital Price Transparency Final Rule requires hospitals to post their cash prices. The cash/self-pay prices are often better than the insured prices, so it's good to check. Also, it's somewhat common for health care providers to say insured patients are not allowed to pay cash. That's not true. I wrote a column about it: https://marshallallen.substack.com/p/yes-you-can-pay-cash-for-health-care. I hope your friend can shop around and get a better deal. Perhaps she can get the service she needs for her son outside of a hospital, where it would be less expensive?