Health care without insurance, & know the price
October 21st, 2009 | by Linda Gorman |(Originally posted on John Goodman’s Health Policy Blog)
Although Canadian health care is supposedly free, each year thousands of Canadians come to the United States instead. Many have spent so long waiting for care in Canada that they will pay out of pocket for US care in order to escape suffering or permanent debilitation or death.
About 400 to 500 a year ask Rick Baker for help. Mr. Baker’s company is Timely Medical Alternatives. It specializes in finding US hospitals and doctors who have good outcomes, treat patients promptly, and charge fair prices.
The differences between the package prices that Mr. Baker negotiates, and the prices charged by providers in most insurance networks, are huge. Here’s a sample that he provided:
Mr. Baker’s services work so well for Canadians, he has come up with a new idea — offering them to Americans. He plans to offer his services to people who have high deductible insurance, the uninsured, and those who just want to pay less for good health care. His new business, North American Surgery, will help Americans get much lower prices in exchange for cash payment from a network of 22 surgical centers in 13 states.
tags: cash-only-medical-practice, competition, Linda Gorman, medical tourism, patient-as-customer
