[phil21]

> Hospitals charge $15 for a single pill of Tylenol because they know insurance will pay for it

It’s more they know insurance won’t pay for it, and negotiate discounts based off the “retail” price. Although at this point it’s gotten so ridiculously convoluted and cross-subsidized that I doubt even the insurance company or hospital knows what the actual paid amount for a Tylenol will end up being until months after the fact.

[teeray]

Meanwhile, I hand my credit card to the vet for a bottle of Gabapentin and I’m out the door.

[SlightlyLeftPad]

That will be uhm, <checks register> $15. Have a fantastic holiday!

[teeray]

My point being that healthcare costs for pets are immediately calculable, where it’s a big damn mystery for months on end about how much equivalent human healthcare will end up costing. Clearly, if the former is possible, the latter should be too.

[SlightlyLeftPad]

Totally agree there. I was simply demonstrating that interaction directly. For a human, it’s “we’ll bill your insurance for that Gabapentin. We’ll need pre-authorization first, assuming it’s covered, you’re out of pocket cost will be your copay of $25 plus 20% coinsurance of whatever number the insurance company decided it should cost assuming you’ve met your deductible.” Me: “what’s the cash price without insurance?” Cashier: “$30”

It’s basically the Kohl’s pricing model except there’s no hope of ever finding out what that single bottle of meds will cost until you’ve completely forgotten it 6 months later and you get a bill for $600.