Jeanne Pinder
“I always price out any labs or tests, even prescriptions before hand the price variations are wild, I then choose the lowest’” — she commented on a Facebook post on my TED talk. I queried her: “Thanks for this! This is my TED talk. I’d like to write about your experience for my blog. Can […]
Jeanne Pinder
When my TED talk was posted again recently on Facebook, with prominent mention of disparities in lab test costs, there were a lot of comments. This one stood out, so I’m putting it here as part of our “A friend writes” series. She’s in the Knoxville, Tenn., area. “Yup!!! “I had a panel of tests […]
Jeanne Pinder
It was one of those shares that seemed hard to believe. The charge for the blood tests at University of North Carolina Hospitals was $2,378, and the person who shared was asked to pay $1,474.92. Cigna, the insurer, paid nothing. The comment: “The UNC facility in question notably distinguished by Cigna as meeting certain quality […]
Jeanne Pinder
“When UnitedHealthcare exited the Affordable Care Act exchange in Louisiana last year, Kim Spencer was one of around 29,000 people forced to find a new insurance plan under the federal health care law. She chose Humana, then found a new primary care physician at Tulane University Medical Center, based on recommendations from friends,” our partner […]
Jeanne Pinder
From around the web: “Last week I wrote about doctors who order unnecessary tests, and the excuses they give. Then I ran across an example that positively flabbered my gaster. A friend’s 21-year-old son went to a board-certified family physician for a routine physical. This young man is healthy, has no complaints, has no past […]
Jeanne Pinder
Summary: Insurance companies are starting to urge people to shop around for the best price for treatment. This is an interesting development, not least because many of us long thought that we bought insurance in order to make sure we were getting a good price for treatment, one ferreted out for us by our insurance […]
Jeanne Pinder
There’s a new lab testing service that is quick, painless, inexpensive and more accurate than the current systems, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. It’s called Theranos, and it was founded by a Stanford dropout named Elizabeth Holmes. It is announcing a partnership on Monday with Walgreen’s to do quick blood testing […]
Jeanne Pinder
The guy known as E-Patient Dave is one of our heroes over here at clearhealthcosts.com. So we were excited to see a post on his blog explaining that the apple never falls far from the tree. It involves a hospital, a lab test and a patient, who happens to be Dave’s daughter. Here’s a snippet: “Well, […]
Jeanne Pinder
Patients are terrible consumers, according to Jon Cohen, chief medical officer at Quest Diagnostics. In a video of his appearance at the June TedMed conference, he made these points: People with high-deductible plans and health savings accounts are saving money and not spending it on basic health care. Mammography rates, cervical cancer screening rates, colonoscopy […]
Jeanne Pinder
It sounds too good to be true. That $148 cholesterol test for $18? Or $400 worth of tests for $50.45? An Ohio doctor (and former journalist) looked at crazy lab test charges, saw uninsured patients go without, and came up with a better way: mailing away your blood samples to a prepaid lab test site […]
