patrick.net

Most providers will give you there fee schedule if you ask them. If they are in network with your insurance you are usually fine, all providers receive they same payments from insurers. What does affect price if the place of service, i.e. getting your tonsils out in a hospital surgery room vs. an ambulatory surgery center.

That article is disingenuous because mechanics change their quotes all the time as they work on your car and find new problems. Similar things happen in medcine. Mechanics also have you car as collateral if they dont get paid, medical providers dont have shit so they need to send to collections or sue you, thus their billed charges need to be high to recoup that cost.

The main problem are out of network emergency rooms, ambulances and ER docs that bill the shit out of you when you have an emergency because they know they have you by the balls. Outlaw that and have providers post which insurance companies they are contracted with and that would take care of most of the problem.

Didn’t Trump require prices be disclosed? Or was it not enforceable?

Yes Trump did require hospitals to publish price lists. A good start.

I haven’t seen any publish it btw.

Patrick says

Yes Trump did require hospitals to publish price lists. A good start.

It is the law though:

https://www.ajc.com/lifestyles/health/hospitals-must-make-prices-public-starting-jan/W4pjlYm3vtuKoiNVDnr3qJ/

Anyway, hospitals get out of it by just making up extremely high numbers that they don't actually charge (unless you don't have insurance -- then they charge you those numbers).

In case it isn't evident, America is a scam. A skim in every way possible. Look at all the ways it's done in real estate and financing.

Patrick says

“When you take your car to the mechanic, they give you a written estimate before they touch it,” she told me.

They also tell you it is not final and can go up if they find something else once they tear it apart. This is especially true for collision repair. That's why it's a bad idea to settle with the ins co, cash a check and then start a repair.

Many hospitals, care centers, and even large doctor's offices get flat payments from insurers as well.

Insurers and Hospitals have pretty good ideas A) How something will cost and B) The likelihood of certain procedures/complexities arising based on your conditions and that of the tens of thousands with your mix/absence of certain conditions.

Also, mechanics update you if they find additional problems. Hospitals just shock you with a final bill.

There needs to be a mandatory cash discount or mandatory UCR Net 90 days CASH for accepting Medicare.

Many hospitals, care centers, and even large doctor's offices get flat payments from insurers as well.

Insurers and Hospitals have pretty good ideas A) How something will cost and B) The likelihood of certain procedures/complexities arising based on your conditions and that of the tens of thousands with your mix/absence of certain conditions.

Also, mechanics update you if they find additional problems. Hospitals just shock you with a final bill.

There needs to be a mandatory cash discount or mandatory UCR Net 90 days CASH for accepting Medicare.

I think US healthcare can be fixed if millions of people demand:

1. an EASY way to know price of non-emergency treatment in advance so they can shop around
2. strict regulation of emergency treatment prices, because there can be no free market in an emergency

How do we get those millions to demand it?

Getting quote is preferred.i think it can be done with 70% of doctor services.

For other 30 % its tricky.
Compared to a car, human body is significantly complicated.

There are shiity doctors and mechanics. You end up getting wrong diagnoses n fixing wrong parts, costing way more. Mechanics do trick people in spending lot , and sometimes breaking other parts , I hear stories of con artist mechanic all the time.

Prices vary at different mechanics. Lexus dealer mechanic 200/hr vs honda 100/hr. Vs local guy 50.

Some doctors are really good, n may charge more.

Cost of living also varies. Ny Manhattan doc hay to pay a lot for office , employees, etc vs Ohio town.

https://www.coffeeandcovid.com/p/justified-monday-january-26-2026

Last week, Reuters ran an eye-opening article headlined, “US lawmakers press health insurance executives on affordability.” Representative Jason Smith (R-Mo.) published a clip from the Ways and Means Committee Hearing that is, perhaps, the best short explainer of everything wrong with Obamacare and our ‘healthcare’ system. ...

At one point during the hearing, Representative Smith, Chairman of Ways and Means, asked the assembled CEOs a series of pointed questions about their companies. Here’s a rough transcript:

SMITH: Which of your companies owns or controls a health insurance division? Raise your hand.

CEOs: All raise hands.

SMITH: Please keep your hand up if you also employ healthcare providers, or own clinics, specialty pharmacies, or any other kind of medical practice or pharmacy?

CEOs: All raise hands.

SMITH: Please keep your hand up if you also own or control a pharmacy benefit manager?

CEOs: All raise hands.

SMITH: Please keep your hand up if you lead a publicly traded company at which you have a legal responsibility to maximize shareholder value?

CEOs: All raise hands.

Chairman Smith wrapped up the electrifying segment like this: “We’ve established on the record that the largest health insurance companies are not just insurers. They’re also medical providers and pharmacies, diagnosing and deciding treatment for patients. They are also PBMs, another form of middlemen, managing drug benefits. They are increasingly controlling every aspect of our healthcare system.”

In other words, Obamacare created a three-tier system: hospitals, doctors, and pharmacies on the bottom; “pharmacy benefit managers” to negotiate drug prices in the middle; and insurance companies at the top. The big insurance companies responded to this perverse incentive by buying up the whole stack. Now they control the entire health process from stem to stern. No wonder their stock prices skyrocketed 10x since Obamacare was passed.

When I was looking for a doctor to do my cataract surgery last year I found a website which showed what individual doctors were charging Medicare for the same procedure. They were all reasonably close but the were not the same. The one I eventually went to was the lowest one in the immediate area, who was also the only doctor who was a white guy and not a foreigner.

Ended up costing around $2700 total after insurance (insurance paid nothing) for one eye for a monofocal lens set for distance. That was what I had figured, and it was cheaper than paying the increased premium for a better insurance policy with a lower deductible.

Patrick says

How do we get those millions to demand it?

Twitter/X and get everyone to mention it.