Comments on: A New Transparency Tool From Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield http://www.healthinsurancecolorado.net/blog1/2008/08/05/a-new-transparency-tool-from-anthem-blue-cross-blue-shield/ Research and discussion of the Colorado health insurance industry and the healthcare crisis in America. Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:34:25 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc hourly 1 By: forHealth http://www.healthinsurancecolorado.net/blog1/2008/08/05/a-new-transparency-tool-from-anthem-blue-cross-blue-shield/comment-page-1/#comment-11267 forHealth Wed, 06 Aug 2008 03:17:06 +0000 http://www.healthinsurancecolorado.net/blog1/?p=487#comment-11267 IMO, it is a token effort for transparency. They reveal the costs of 39 medical procedures but anyone that has a procedure knows the real cost will be 3-4 times that estimate. After all, you have to pay $10 for a bandaid and other itemized supplies and things. A real transparency occurs when a the cost of a medical procedure is given as a total, final cost. The excuse given by clinics is that know one really knows how long a procedure will take or if there will be complications. So what!? When I go to buy a t-shirt at a store, I don't care how long it takes or if there were complications in its manufacture. I only care if the I receive the product I selected with quality customer service. The same thing can be done in healthcare. Say a knee operation is given as $10,000 total, regardless of what happens or how long it takes. The doctor will make money by becoming more efficient. If something happens, they make less money. This is how the real world works. Most health care policy administrators have been living in a fantasy world for far too long thinking they can continue to receive blank checks. IMO, it is a token effort for transparency. They reveal the costs of 39 medical procedures but anyone that has a procedure knows the real cost will be 3-4 times that estimate. After all, you have to pay $10 for a bandaid and other itemized supplies and things. A real transparency occurs when a the cost of a medical procedure is given as a total, final cost.

The excuse given by clinics is that know one really knows how long a procedure will take or if there will be complications. So what!?

When I go to buy a t-shirt at a store, I don’t care how long it takes or if there were complications in its manufacture. I only care if the I receive the product I selected with quality customer service.

The same thing can be done in healthcare. Say a knee operation is given as $10,000 total, regardless of what happens or how long it takes. The doctor will make money by becoming more efficient. If something happens, they make less money. This is how the real world works. Most health care policy administrators have been living in a fantasy world for far too long thinking they can continue to receive blank checks.

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