In a few days, I am to have some (I hope minor) surgery. In anticipation of this event, I have undertaken to find out how much the various contributors will charge. So far, after a week of waiting, I have succeeded in finding out only an estimate of the anesthesiologists charge. Neither the hospital nor the surgeons office has been able to give me a cost estimate. Ive had similar experiences in the past. Each time I have inquired about prices, the providers have been virtually struck dumb by my inquiry -- they act as if they have never been asked such a question before (some even say so). Think about this situation. Can you imagine how any enterprise or industry on the market can possibly function within a light year of satisfactorily without its consumers knowing the prices they will have to pay? The present U.S. medical-care system is fouled up for a multitude of reasons, but the suppression of prices and the shift of payments to third parties, away from the patients themselves, lie at the very heart of why this system is such a horrendous mess. This situation tempts me to stop getting treatment entirely. I dont feel at all comfortable in putting my wealth on the line in complete ignorance of how much I may be charged.
Posted on: Sun, 08 Jun 2014 22:01:57 +0000
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