Things hospitals don't want you to know

Jeanette Padilla

naturalnews.com

Why does the same treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease cost $99,690 at one hospital and $7,044 at another hospital just 30 miles away? For decades, hospitals have kept their price lists secret. These price lists, also known as "charge masters," are no longer secret; they were released last year by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Robert Laszewski, a former health insurance company executive, wrote to The Huffington Post, "The charge masters are totally irrational." At one time, hospitals based prices on healthcare costs and their need for profit that would allow them to invest in upgrades for their facilities. Now, those prices are simply distorted and have no justification to them.

Numerous operations are unnecessary

In a piece titled "50 Secrets Your Surgeon Won't Tell You," Marty Makary, MD, told Reader's Digest that nearly 25% of operations are unnecessary, but administrators tell doctors to do more. Hospitals push doctors to perform more procedures to generate more money, and it even happens in some of America's top hospitals.

A healthcare expert at Harvard business School, Robert Huckman, said that, when a hospital doesn't make as much money as it wants from one source, it looks to make up the difference through over avenues. One way they can make up that difference is through the uninsured, who almost always pay the full price of a service. Your doctor may have a financial relationship with vendors Makary also shared that some orthopedic surgeons have agreements with device manufacturers. Some surgeons make millions with these agreements and perform a record number of implants for that company. According to Dr. James Rickert, if your doctor has a financial relationship with a vendor, you'll likely get a device from that vendor even if it's more costly or less suitable for you.
to read more: naturalnews.com