Category: Patients

Welcome to our modern hospital where if you want to know a price you can go f**k yourself: McSweeney’s

Filed Under: Costs, Patients, Providers

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Welcome to our modern hospital where if you want to know a price you can go f**k yourself: McSweeney’s

“Welcome to America General Hospital!” Alex Baia writes over at McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. “Seems you have an oozing head injury there. Let’s check your insurance. Okay, quick ‘heads up’ — ha! — that your plan may not cover everything today. What’s that? You want a reasonable price quote, upfront, for our services? Sorry, let me […]

McSweeney's

How much does an emergency room visit cost?

Filed Under: Costs, Health plans, Patients

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How much does an emergency room visit cost?

Emergency room visits cost a lot. So we weren’t surprised when an anonymous person shared an emergency room bill on our site. What we were surprised by: It was a $545 charge. And the person who sent it was outraged that it was so high. By the standards of what we see every day, that […]

emergency-room visit Nippon Life Benefits Weill Cornell Medical College

A CPAP machine can help some get better sleep, but insurers don’t make it easy: NPR

Filed Under: Costs, Health plans, Patients

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A CPAP machine can help some get better sleep, but insurers don’t make it easy: NPR

“Last March, Tony Schmidt discovered something unsettling about the machine that helps him breathe at night,” Marshall Allen of ProPublica writes over at NPR’s Shots blog. “Without his knowledge, it was spying on him. From his bedside, the device was tracking when he was using it and sending the information not just to his doctor, […]

CPAP machine Marshall Allen sleep apnea

What’s the cost for an emergency room visit for a twisted ankle? How to successfully argue a bill.

Filed Under: Costs, Health plans, Patients

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What’s the cost for an emergency room visit for a twisted ankle? How to successfully argue a bill.

A friend recently told me about an emergency room visit for a twisted ankle that nearly cost her $3,500 — and how she successfully argued a bill. We’re leaving out the name of the hospital and insurer, and also my friend’s name; the point here is not to name names but to give helpful advice […]

argue a bill emergency room twisted ankle

U.S. first in health spending and worst on major health indicators: JAMA Network

Filed Under: Costs, Health plans, Health reform

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U.S. first in health spending and worst on major health indicators: JAMA Network

The United States ranks first in spending and worst in obesity, life expectancy and infant mortality, compared to other high-income countries, according to a March 2018 article in JAMA Network by Irene Papanicolas, PhD; Liana R. Woskie, MSc1; and Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH1. Here are the findings: “In 2016, the US spent 17.8% of […]

JAMA

To fight high drug prices, Utah will pay for public employees to go fill prescriptions in Mexico: The Salt Lake Tribune

Filed Under: Costs, Health plans, Health reform

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To fight high drug prices, Utah will pay for public employees to go fill prescriptions in Mexico: The Salt Lake Tribune

“Amid a flurry of national proposals to bring exorbitant U.S. drug prices in line with other countries’ charges, one Utah insurer has a different option for patients: Pay them to go to Mexico,” Erin Alberty writes over at The Salt Lake Tribune. PEHP, which covers 160,000 public employees and family members, is offering plane tickets […]

How much does Nucala cost? Or how to argue a bill

Filed Under: Costs, Health plans, Patients

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How much does Nucala cost? Or how to argue a bill

A friend writes: “Tufts Medicare Preferred on numerous occasions failed to give me cost and alternative information related to Nucala (asthma) injections that I needed to make a reasonable decision. After three injections, I received a bill for my first injection copay of $576.74 indicating a total of $1730.22. I had had no previous indication […]

appeals Medicare Nucala Tufts

A complete workers comp price list from North Carolina

Filed Under: Costs, Health plans, Patients

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A complete workers comp price list from North Carolina

Wonk alert! Anyone who knows us knows how much we love price lists. Here’s a new one: It’s a site that gives access to a full workers comp price list for North Carolina, called the “N.C. Industrial Commission Medical Fee Schedule.” You can download a spreadsheet that has the prices for workers comp settlements for […]

fee schedule North Carolina workers comp workers compensation

How much does a transvaginal ultrasound cost? She saved $155.01 by arguing over a bill

Filed Under: Costs, Patients

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How much does a transvaginal ultrasound cost? She saved $155.01 by arguing over a bill

How much does a transvaginal ultrasound cost? We heard from a community member who successfully argued a bill from Florida Radiology Imaging for $312.13 It’s a good story of how a savvy person can make a clear point with an abundance of information. She sent in her prices with this comment: “These were done for […]

argue a bill transvaginal ultrasound ultrasound

How much does an ultrasound cost? She saved $75.

Filed Under: Costs, Health plans, Health reform

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How much does an ultrasound cost? She saved $75.

This share came in recently from an anonymous community member — for an ultrasound of the head and neck, medical billing code 76536, with a charge of $146.91 at Oaks Radiology in Phoenixville, Pa., The comment: “Paoli Hospital quoted about $1000 without insurance, 40% discount if you pay cash up front, $221.77 with [Independence Blue […]

ultrasound

Editor's Picks

Joining Health Rosetta's collaborators board
PriceCheck: We're creating health cost guides with our partners and our communities across the nation
How much will that cost/did that cost? Part 1 of a series on billing
Women, men, health care costs: Speaking different languages
Is it cheaper to pay cash than to use your insurance? Maybe.
How much does a colonoscopy cost? From $600 to over $5,400
People are shopping for health care. This is what it sounds like.
How much does childbirth cost? Or an MRI? Our hospital data
How do people use our information? A few examples
How much does a mammogram cost? The takeaway on billing, from our WNYC partnership