Surgery Center Tries Price Transparency

Gang is from California and he is uninsured.

Surgery in his home-state was going to be about $30,000.

The posted price at Surgery Center of Oklahoma was $5,700, one-fifth the price.

Matthew and his father Tom Gang flew from California to Oklahoma for surgery.

“It was well worth it,” Tom Gang said. “I need a rotator cuff surgery right now. I’m thinking about flying out there and having my surgery because it was such a positive experience for us.”

A surgery center in Oklahoma is posting its all-inclusive prices online saying that its goal is to start a price war:

“When we first started we thought we were about half the price of the hospitals,” Dr. Lantier remembers. “Then we found out we’re less than half price. Then we find out we’re a sixth to an eighth of what their prices are. I can’t believe the average person can afford health care at these prices.”

The surgery center says it accepts private insurance but not Medicaid or Medicare payments because they say federal Medicare regulations don’t allow them to post their prices online.

Obviously our health care system is extremely complicated, and I can’t really comment on this beyond: “This is a thing that is happening.” But it’s interesting to see a health care institution try something different. [via]

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