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2010-03-02 -Short Attention Span Theater-

Care to guess how much a hospital gets away with charging you for a toothbrush?

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Posted by gorb 2010-03-02 01:51|| E-Mail|| Front Page|| [11131 views ] Top

#1 It's overhead, folks - they have to cover the costs of overhead, so everything gets marked up.

Overhead is the costs that can't be directly attributed to you - admistrators, janitors, people without insurance, and other deadbeats.

So the insured are already paying for the uninsured. Only with Obamacare, the government will be adding to the overhead.

Posted by Bobby 2010-03-02 06:59|| 2010-03-02 06:59|| Front Page Top

#2 It's how they pay for the real cost of things they know the government is not going to repay them for. If it costs them $10 for an item, the government will only reimburse them $5. They can't operate that way. So they charge $20 dollars and the government will reimburse them $10. Obviously, a lot of the cost/price models are distorted because that's the way the system is ultimately gamed. The hospitals and service providers are only playing the game forced on them by politicians who hide the real cost of 'work' by allocating only a fraction of what it requires. If hospitals and health providers were locked into 'reasonable' costs of which the government will only pay a fraction thereof, they'll simply shut their doors. As the have on so many emergency rooms across the country which are mandated to provide service whether a patient can pay or not. So, the answer to "Care to guess how much a hospital gets away with charging you for a toothbrush?" what ever they can get away with to cover costs and expenses forced on them by our pols.

Posted by Procopius2k 2010-03-02 08:47|| 2010-03-02 08:47|| Front Page Top

#3 If it costs them $10 for an item, the government will only reimburse them $5. They can't operate that way. So they charge $20 dollars and the government will reimburse them $10. Obviously, a lot of the cost/price models are distorted because that's the way the system is ultimately gamed.

And funny enough, it's the little guy that pays for medical care out of his own pocket that gets royally screwed because he gets charged the same hyper-inflated price but can't refuse to pay 70% of the bill.

Posted by ed 2010-03-02 08:51|| 2010-03-02 08:51|| Front Page Top

#4 A big part of it is all the regulations the FDA imposes. For example the alcohol has the be produced to certain standards... the Saline has to be proven to be uncontaminated - as does everythign used to produce it. Each of course has to meet specific standards of production tracibility, etc...

And then there is the overhead.

And someone has to pay for the mandatory treatment of illegals (I bet CNN won't mention the cost to treat illegal aliens in the Emergency Department.)

Posted by CrazyFool 2010-03-02 09:13|| 2010-03-02 09:13|| Front Page Top

#5 I'm told hospitals have a very low bad debt of two percent because non payers go into a pool that is reembursered by non governmental charitable foundations. Ie americans are very charitable.

The reason cost are so high is because unlike most businesses and workers, they are not paid whrn they provide a service but three months to a year later. Doctors hospitals and labs charge an interest included rate for this float. You can find out how much by getting a lab rate card. Doctors say a cash system would cut cost 50%.

Posted by Whereque Sforza4009 2010-03-02 09:32|| 2010-03-02 09:32|| Front Page Top

#6 it's the little guy that pays for medical care out of his own pocket that gets royally screwed

Not according to Rush.

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2010-03-02 09:43|| 2010-03-02 09:43|| Front Page Top

#7 If everyone stopped going to the ER for the sniffles the hospital overhead issues would slowly shrink.

Posted by 746 2010-03-02 11:22|| 2010-03-02 11:22|| Front Page Top

#8 not to mention that Obesity is killing our medical system. A freind of mine,a nurse, had her shoulder thrown out of wack when a 700 pounder started to slither off the bed and had to be caught before she hit the floor, she caught the woman by her pannis,which is really gross. Pannis : look it up.

Posted by 746 2010-03-02 11:25|| 2010-03-02 11:25|| Front Page Top

#9 If everyone stopped going to the ER for the sniffles the hospital overhead issues would slowly shrink.

So everyone wants you to believe. But if it stopped a lot of high revenue would disappear without as much reduction in cost because these high margin(Medicaid)/low priority customers are used to load balance the line. Then we'd hear lots of moaning from the hospitals about the foregone revenue.

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2010-03-02 11:32|| 2010-03-02 11:32|| Front Page Top

#10 If it costs them $10 for an item, the government will only reimburse them $5. They can't operate that way. So they charge $20 dollars and the government will reimburse them $10.
Not quite. The government will still only reimburse the $5, and the insurance companies might go to $7.50, with the shortfalls made up by cash payers coughing up the full $20.

Posted by Glenmore 2010-03-02 12:47|| 2010-03-02 12:47|| Front Page Top

#11 You can find out how much by getting a lab rate card. Just try getting one of those at your local hospital. I had a list of standard, very frequently done, lab tests and tried to price them at 2 local hospitals. One hospital flat out refused to tell me, saying I would have to have the lab tests done there & wait for the bill. The other hospital delayed several weeks & then told me the price would be over $700, no specifics, just a lower range quote.
I went online to directlabs, paid by credit card ahead of time, had the tests drawn (at the hospital which refused to give me a quote) and had the results in a week for $140.

Posted by Anguper Hupomosing9418 2010-03-02 13:15|| 2010-03-02 13:15|| Front Page Top

#12 Has anyone ever published the forms people sign in order for treatment at a hospital? They are contracts, and among other things, the patient usually promises to pay charges that are not covered by insurance, sky's the limit on just how much that will be.

Posted by Anguper Hupomosing9418 2010-03-02 13:21|| 2010-03-02 13:21|| Front Page Top

#13 Wide range of reasons depending on the hospital. I worked mostly in public hospitals. We had to take everyone regardless of ability to pay. Private hospitals would ship their indigents to us as soon as they had been stabilized (sometimes before). As I recall about 40% of the census was no-pay - county foots the bill via free care - another 50 % were Medicare and Medi-Cal (CA's version of Medicaid.) So between no pay and gov't less than cost programs, the charges got pretty high. Can't speak to private hospitals and it's been years since I was involved in Hospital Admin, but I doubt it's changed much, except for the worst

Posted by Mercutio 2010-03-02 15:30|| 2010-03-02 15:30|| Front Page Top

#14 "Overhead is the costs that can't be directly attributed to you - admistrators, janitors, people without insurance, and other deadbeats."

Add in legal and malpractice insurance, and excessive tests caused by that...

Posted by Beldar Threreling9726 2010-03-02 17:05|| 2010-03-02 17:05|| Front Page Top

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