logicallypositive:

latimes:

The lowest price is usually available only if patients don’t use their health insurance. In one case, blood tests that cost an insured patient $415 would have been $95 in cash.

Remember that entry I wrote about health care costs being a result of a disruption of the price mechanism viz. government-promotion of insurance companies? Yeah, this is my point.

LTMC: This is the exact opposite of what normally happens.  It is much more common for hospitals to charge patients without insurance more because insurance companies have the economic clout necessary to bargain with healthcare providers for lower rates.  Individual patients have no such clout, and even if they did, would be in a poor position to use it in most cases.  A person who is bleeding from a gunshot wound cannot defiantly refuse to patronize the nearest hospital because he finds their services “unreasonably priced.”

I suspect that the LA Times is failing to control for the income of the self-payers.  Giving out charity care through reduced rates is not the same thing as bargaining at arm’s length.  It’s an attempt to reconcile their bottom line with their responsibilities under EMTALA.

(via rigatonideology)

1. vettebroussard said: wow
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    Transparency, damn it!

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    Whoa, really?!

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30. alsson reblogged this from letterstomycountry and added:

    More bullshit. Here’s what happens. Hospitals and other medical providers have 2 price lists: One is full retail, that...

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    Be sure to click through to the article! This is an important read.

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48. latimes reblogged this from latimes and added:

    There’s a good conversation happening in this thread. Just wanted to note...the hospitals...

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