Stop Hiding Medical Prices From Patients!
- by: Care2.com
- recipient: Attorney General Eric Holder
We're offered the side effects, risks, and success rate of an invasive surgery before we undergo the procedure.
The healthcare industry is forgetting to clue consumers in on one colossal necessity: the price.
Price transparency is a no-show in hospitals across the country, leaving patients with nightmares about a potential bill at the end of their procedures for thousands, or tens of thousands, more than their estimate.
More than 60 percent of U.S. bankruptcies are due to medical bills. Price transparency in the medical industry isn't a courtesy, it's a consumer necessity.
A recent study found that even a procedure as common as a hip replacement has an extremely confusing price tag. The price was often unavailable and estimates ranged from ten thousand to one hundred and twenty five thousand dollars!
Stop keeping medical prices a secret! We want price fairness, transparency, and consistency.
Dear General Holder,
If I purchase a ten thousand dollar hip replacement, is that procedure going to be of lesser quality than a fifty thousand dollar hip replacement? What is the price for a colonoscopy? How much will my X-rays cost?
Patients rarely know.
The healthcare industry is driven by patients--by consumers--but consumers don't really know how much they're paying. No store, shop, car dealership, or realtor would be able to flat-out hide the price of a product, or, even worse, increase the estimated amount after selling the product. The healthcare industry does this constantly.
It's no surprise that consumers are overwhelmed with medical debt and that 60 percent of all U.S. bankruptcies are due to medical bills that can't be paid.
A visit to the doctor shouldn't come with a hidden price. Provide patients with price transparency in America's hospitals!
Sincerely,
[Your name here]
