Free market-loving, price-displaying, state-of-the-art, AAAHC accredited, doctor owned, multispecialty surgical facility in central OK.
Oklahoma City
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Almost without exception, the hundreds of employer contracts we have work this way. Employers (nationwide) waive deductibles and pay travel costs for the patient and companion. GKS
Exactly. Members don't care what a facility fee is... they care about the one number. That's why bundled cash prices work so well inside a self-funded plan. On a lot of plans the employer can waive the deductible on the bundle, and the employee knows their total before they schedule.
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The obsession with ensuring that not only profit but a certain amount of profit should accompany every surgical procedure forms the basis of the analysis paralysis surrounding price formation. Sometimes margins are eroded and charity by those who miscalculated kicks in. GKS
Not for nothing, the Surgery Center of Oklahoma (@SurgeryCenterOK) doesn't seem to have any problems detailing the costs of procedures *before* they happen. It can be done!
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Surgery Center of OK retweeted
Such a workaround - and a total waste of time.
No one enforces transparency like customers spending money.
Just put the money in patient hands.
Human nature will take over.
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The vast majority of surgeries can be "commoditized." While a certain amount of uncertainty always exists, that is priced into the margin, which might be surrendered on any given case. Over time, this should even out or prices modified to accommodate. GKS
Surgery Center of Oklahoma and others have been doing it for decades.
It can be done and is being done with most surgeries. What’s the difference between this and taking your car to get fixed and the mechanic has complications and has to charge more?
There’s no difference. There’s no reason you can’t give a good faith estimate and provide an Itemized Bill with reasonable Free Market pricing at the end.
Charge master is a Price Gouging fraud machine we can no longer afford. With Transparent Pricing and the availability of Free Market Pricing the old outdated pricing done by hospitals with charge master is dead.
Not to long ago I could get a bag of 1 L NS for $5.71 wholesale. Price Gouging days are over.
@SurgeryCenterOK what are your thoughts?
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Healthcare bills can include billed charges, negotiated rates, deductibles, coinsurance, facility fees, anesthesia fees, and more.
But ultimately, what patients want to know is simpler: what will the total cost of care be for my family and me?
Price your procedure today at SurgeryCenterOK.com.
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Surgery Center of OK retweeted
The part people miss is what's in that $18K... surgeon, anesthesia, facility, PT, home health, & DME. A hospital quote rarely covers all of that. For a self-funded employer, one bundled price is something you can write into the plan $ waive the deductible to steer people there.
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Surgery Center of OK retweeted
Couldn't agree more. Every employer that pairs a self-funded plan with transparent cash-price surgery and independent primary care is a working alternative the system can't spin. We're building them one group at a time here in North Texas.
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About $18K (surgeon, anesthesia, facility, PT-30 days, home health, DME)-implant ($2-5K) depending on patient needs. GKS
Hey @SurgeryCenterOK what would you charge? I bet it’s not $80k
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Surgery Center of OK retweeted
Removing third party payments for routine care will solve most of our healthcare cost problems.
Don’t believe me? Think it’s only around the margins?
Look at @nikillinit’s bill for childbirth. Nearly $80k paid by his insurance and another $4k out of pocket.
Now look at the billboard for this hospital advertising cash pay. They can do the entire thing for less than what @nikillinit’s out of pocket!
Using insurance is a 20x markup. We see this over and over again. 10-30x markups with third party payment. Compare @SurgeryCenterOK’s prices to insurance. Compare what @AtlasMD charges for imaging and meds to what your insurance pays. Look at the comparisons @noahkaufmanmd has directly on his website.
Moving to a cash pay system for routine care doesn’t just save a few percentage points off cost. We are talking 50-80% reductions. Massive savings before you even factor in what competition will do to further drive down costs and increase quality.
We are talking about saving hundreds of billions, easily.
So how much does it cost to have a baby in the US? The Europeans are really gonna shit themselves at this one.
(caveats - based in new york, good commercial coverage, etc.)
We were billed ~$150K, our insurance paid ~$79K, and our out-of-pocket costs were ~$4300. And this was for a largely uneventful birth cost wise - NICU babies can end up as multi-hundreds of thousands of dollars to occasionally $1M+!
Why are we sharing all of this? IMO healthcare wins because patients are afraid to share their experiences with each other. We gained a lot by having friends who would share their stories with us. This is our family's small part of trying to break that information asymmetry.
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This discussion will help you with Arrow's error. GKS
mises.org/podcasts/bob-murph…
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Surgery Center of OK retweeted
Nonsense. Markets solve information problems, they don't require them to already be solved.
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Thank you, Per! Much appreciated. GKS
Every year, my students listen to this great @EconTalker episode with Dr. Keith Smith from @SurgeryCenterOK, which opens their eyes to the strange nature of healthcare in the USA. It's a good starting point for discussing regulations vs. entrepreneurship. econtalk.org/keith-smith-on-…
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The best "fix" is the creation of an alternative. The "system" players don't desire a fix-it is working exactly as designed. More money, more government control will make them wealthier. GKS
We will never fix Healthcare without Direct Primary Care and Direct Specialty Care with a Robust Medical Care Free Market.
Medicare is riddled with Fraud. Medical for All will bury the US in FRAUD.
#Healthcare #Congress #CORRUPTION
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And atlasbillingcompany.com which allows price gougers to identify as "free marketeers" on a case by case basis accommodating sticker-shocked buyers. GKS
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#DirectCare has eliminated copays. Offers all in office procedures FREE. Contracts directly with rx distributors for up to 95% savings on meds. National contracts with labs for up to 95% savings. Our own network of specialists for teleconsults for $30-50.
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