DailyDirt: How Much Is That MRI In The Window?

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

We've discussed some healthcare nightmares previously, focusing on how the prices of medical procedures are oftentimes a surprise and far from transparent. This problem continues to plague people suffering from various injuries or illnesses -- but there are some projects trying to increase the transparency of medical pricing. However, just knowing the pricing before a bill comes isn't the final solution (at all). Here are just a few more links on this situation.

• KQED has started a PriceCheck campaign to crowdsource the charged prices for common medical procedures that actual patients have been billed. Early results show that a procedure like a mammogram can vary from $125 to $801. [url]
• A Canadian couple was charged nearly $1 million for giving birth in the US. Blue Cross said it denied them coverage due to a pre-existing condition. [url]
• There may be mounting pressure for price transparency as more patients pay more of their own healthcare costs, and as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) makes more prices public knowledge. Chargemaster prices are becoming more widely known, but those prices may not reflect what anyone actually pays. Healthcare Bluebook is another effort that aims to create a price list for procedures (akin to the way used cars prices are published). [url]
• Medical price transparency might not benefit low-income folks if prices become more uniform and procedures simply become unavailable for those who can't afford them. This doesn't mean we shouldn't try to get more price transparency, but that we should also prepare for the unintended consequences that can be foreseen. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.

Filed Under: chargemaster, crowdsourcing, health, healthcare, medical billing, price transparency, pricecheck
Companies: blue cross, cms, healthcare bluebook, kqed