2010-04-15

How Much Is That Surgery In The Window?

I enjoyed this post at Classically Liberal.

I remember, being the inquisitive mind that I am, asking my doctor how much an ACL surgery costs. He looked at me perplexed with a "what do you care it's covered" look. At which point I stared back with a "yeah, but someone has to pay for it" smirk. He didn't really know but he guessed around $15 or $20 000.

Guessed. As in, how can you possibly think we can control costs if the damn doctor doesn't even know how much things cost!

I invite people to perform this exercise for fun whenever they go into a hospital. Rather than be painfully and blissfully unaware, stop, look, listen to what the birdies are saying. Everything costs money. Of course, to a liberal-socialist-statist-progressive, it's not about the money but the compassion component.

I guess even compassion is a commodity with a price tag.

2 comments:

  1. When, in another life I presided over a hospital board we managed to lop off 100000$/year off our expenses when we explained to our doctors that sending their welfare recipient patients by ambulance from nearby villages for tests and various exams was paid for by the hospital. They thought Social Welfare was paying. Suddenly the patients found friends and family to ferry them back and forth.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Something tells me obvious and sensible solutions are a thing of the past!

    ReplyDelete

Mysterious and anonymous comments as well as those laced with cyanide and ad hominen attacks will be deleted. Thank you for your attention, chumps.