When a baby is about to arrive, every minute counts. Yet when Jen Villa of Salinas, California, was in labor, she and her partner drove 45 minutes in the middle of the night, bypassing nearby hospitals to reach one they could afford.
For years, the price of hospital care has been hidden from patients, companies and taxpayers who get the bills — and that secrecy has made a hospital visit in some places prohibitively expensive. It has also fostered disparities, forcing people to pay far more depending on where they go.
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Federal rules put in place in 2021 require hospitals to make their prices public so consumers can compare them and know ahead of time how much going to one will cost. While many hospitals have been slow to comply, the emerging picture has revealed imbalances that leave patients like Villa weighing saving money against being seen by a preferred doctor or at facilities closer to home.
A Bloomberg News analysis of data compiled by Rand Corp. found more than 350 hospitals in communities across the US with significantly lower-cost competitors within 5 miles. More than half the time, the less expensive facilities had quality ratings that were similar or superior to their pricier neighbors. If patients are willing to travel as far as Villa did for lower cost care, they’re likely to find it: Almost half of US hospitals are within 30 miles of a significantly less expensive competitor, according to Bloomberg’s analysis of the Rand data.
Such inconsistencies seem to defy the normal market forces that shape prices for most goods and services…
Only a few thousand dollars??? I had a tumor taken out, with insurance, paid around $8k. I had a persistent sinus infection and couldn’t breath for most of my life, need surgery, with insurance, paid $4k and got diarrhea for months due to antibiotics that insurance determined I needed before surgery (surgeon didn’t see why it would bee helpful since my physiology was messed up, no air flow isn’t fixed by antibiotics). Each state is different, different parts of each state are different too… Still though, that sounds like it was a really good move for you and I’m glad you had that opportunity…
It was an acquaintance, but yes. Thing is, if you don’t have insurance, your price is usually deeply discounted. A few weeks ago I needed a scan of a vein for a blood clot. My copay was $300 (and who knows how much the total paid by insurance would be), but they said I could just pay cash and not go through insurance and it was only $130. That’s part of the problem with our system.