Thread. A year ago I got an astounding health care bill: $629 for a Band Aid delivered in an emergency room. (1/11)pic.twitter.com/9zZTNyOqLl
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Today, I wrote a story about a $25,000 bill for an MRI. That only happens in America. (7/11) https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/10/16/16357790/health-care-prices-problem …pic.twitter.com/cJ8iEoSyk9
We need help. Because these fees are secret, we need you to share your ER bills through our secure website: http://erbills.vox.com (8/11)
I’ll use this data for a year long project on health care billing. We’ll bring transparency to one corner of American health care. (9/11)
Thank you, thank you, thank you so much in advance! So thrilled to see where this story goes (10/11)
And if you want to learn more about that $629 Band Aid, check out the first episode of The Impact! (11/11)https://www.vox.com/the-impact/2017/10/16/16387298/band-aid-er-bill-truth-american-health-care …
Agree w spirit this investigation, but that "facility fee" is high bc it covers a lot. It costs $$ to keep an ER open and fully staffed 24/7
But can the explain/justify why? Or do they just pick a number out of the air? How do they pick the amounts?
Usually facility specific based on payor mix and local cost of operation (i.e. local salary needs, utility needs, size of facility, etc)
In the US i have used a hosiptal and 'urgent care' for the same problem. $1,060 at hospital, 20 min away a $200 at urgent care.
(kids 'nursemaids elbow', same 3 minute flex-exercize to fix it). I dont believe their costd are 500% different.
Their costs are extremely different. The problem is that hospitals (and especially EDs) are giant bundles of fixed costs that have to be covered. There are more or less sophisticated ways to sort fixed costs across different departments and charges. /1
Perceived fairness is apparently not a big factor in how fixed costs are distributed across procedures, which is easier to "get away with" in our era of zero price transparency.
Facility fees are used to recover losses from unpaid bills from uninsured or underinsured ppl. Why universal healthcare is key to lower $.
others reported the full price as bad debt. So even with ACA, high deductible, lower cost plans mean you had a $600 facility fee! 3/3
hospitals to lower prices, but the uninsured may face the higher sticker price. Some hospitals discount prices for the uninsured, but.. 2/3
Hospitals typically bill uninsured patients more than they bill health plans for the same procedure. Insurance companies negotiate with 1/3
Have you figured out how to find the Medicare rate? Fun with CMS files!
Hero. Awesome. Thanks.
Have you taken look at Meds w/in ER/Hospital setting? Does one pays full price & patient's Rx insurance is not used?
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