Shop for surgery

September 15th, 2008 | by Brian Schwartz |

Who says you can’t?  Even in 2006, CBS News reported:

Like millions of Americans, Gary Garcia is shopping online, CBS News correspondent Wyatt Andrews reports. But he’s not on eBay or Amazon.com. Garcia needs a new heart valve, and he’s shopping for surgery.

Using a Web site called Health Grades.com, Garcia learns which nearby hospital is the best at heart surgery — and then, to his amazement, he gets an estimated breakdown of the costs. He gets the list price for his operation, the discounted price his insurance will pay and his estimated co-payment.  

Check out the video, too.  Vimo.com provides similar information.


    None Found
  • The services are helpful. Trying it out myself I found that, in general, calling each facility can get you a break down of costs directly from the provider. They often will provide discounts for cash payments if you do not have insurance but negotiating a lower rate is very hard (when I tried).
blog comments powered by Disqus