my hypothesis about this is that in the US the economics of health care are enormously distorted because it is taboo to ask about costs up front because this violates the sacredness of life, which we must pretend is not a question of money
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Was the meant to be region specific? In the UK its only really elective surgery that would probably require you to stump up.
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probably should have been, but it's still interesting
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Yes, BUT, have rarely gotten an answer. It's almost always a different department. The doctors often don't *know*.
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With both kids, we paid an estimated amount upfront. For the first we ended up paying a little more. For the second, thousands. Neither time could we get a straight answer beforehand.
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Also, the doctor may know what *they're* owed but not what the *hospital* will be owed, because on some plans those costs are very granular. Our OB got like $500 for a year's appointments and the delivery, from us. Thousands owed elsewhere.
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For medical billing to make any sense to the patient there has to be set prices. No charging $12 for each individual Advil, etc. But what you get is, say, $900/night for "nursing care" for a newborn who's sleeping in room with mom and gets two check-in visits overnight.
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But you don't find out that's even a thing until/unless you ask for an itemized list of costs, which will be vaguely worded and poorly explained.
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The initial bill comes as a lump sum owed.
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It's the only business I can think of where you have to agree to pay whatever you're charged before the service begins, but not allowed to know how much you might be charged. There's uncertainty in care, sure, but not that much.
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i missed this. but with low cost insurance, where my copays are unreasonably high, i always am compelled to ask this question. although the majority of the time i do not.
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For now the answer is never, as healthcare is currently free at the point of use in the UK, I hope it remains that way forever.
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i read dentist and voted 90 per cent i made a mistake!!!!!!!! the real answer is never
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Nope. Scottish. Never had to, never will.
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This was confusing, until I remembered that I grew up in Canada
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Not since getting a job with actual coverage and becoming bougie.
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Never. I live in the uk.
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No but they sure love telling me anyway (Usually in the context of telling me why they won’t bother)
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Note: I’m on Medicaid in a Medicaid expansion state. I do everything my insurance will pay for and basically only that. (So I guess corollary: I ask when people are talking about something I’d pay for, it’s just usually if that’s the case—ex. DME—I already know.)
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So I wouldn’t be surprised if the dynamic of doctors (and pharmacists) giving me this information against my will is because they see themselves as the taxpayers who are entitled to governing my healthcare, tbh.
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