Medical Care

[SheilaT]

2. The reason the clinic cannot give you a "rack rate" price is that

they have no such thing. The cost for each and every procedure is negotiated separately with each and every insurance they take.

Some places will have a price for uninsured walk-ins, and that's usually the highest price there is. Usually you can negotiate a substantial discount if you pay cash within thirty days.

Yes, the system is totally awful, but this is what it is.

Oh, and the doctor not knowing the price of cataract surgery is even more understandable if you think about it, because he has absolutely nothing to do with the amount that's billed. And again, the price they get will be different depending on exactly what coverage an individual patient has. And there will be different prices for the cataract surgery depending on just what lens is inserted.

Perhaps more to the point, medical care is NOTHING like making and selling widgets. Really, it isn't.