Blue Cross & Shield is finally motivated to make cost data available for the masses. They put a tool online that allows you to see what a procedure should actually cost<\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.bcbsnc.com\/content\/providersearch\/treatments\/index.htm#\/<\/a><\/p>\n Having 3 close relatives that earn their incomes from the medical business, I’m really aware that the cost of medicine has become “whatever we think we can make someone pay”. Cost shifting is rampant and the most inexperienced doctors think they should make upper middle class livings (unlike $75 a month doctors in Cuba)<\/p>\n So I live in zip code 28226 and checked on the cost of my upcoming hysterectomy within 250 miles.<\/p>\n The range goes from about $4,415 to $27,883. There is a very clear pattern that Novant (who 2 of my relatives work for) is gouging Blue Cross. They have gone around the state buying up the local hospitals and putting them in their “system”, and then charging 3x as much. Presumably the money left over after paying the interest on the borrowed money and executive salaries was spent on sponsoring the Christmas parade in Charlotte.<\/p>\n Just because an entity is a 501(3)c nonprofit doesn’t mean there isn’t lots of money to be made.<\/p>\n Duke Medical Center I would cut some slack – they are the university hospital where really complicated or dangerous cases go – so their higher costs might reflect that.<\/p>\n So with this transparency, will Novant cut their prices, or will the small hospitals start charging $30,000?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Blue Cross & Shield is finally motivated to make cost data available for the masses. They put a tool online that allows you to see what a procedure should actually cost http:\/\/www.bcbsnc.com\/content\/providersearch\/treatments\/index.htm#\/ Having 3 close relatives that earn their incomes … Continue reading