Jorgensens article How Companies are Changing Healthcare Costs certainly raises some questions.
I applaud Hannaford on leading the way in giving their employees an affordable option for elective surgery. By doing this they not only managed to save themselves some pennies, save their employees many pennies, but have also called the local providers bluff in regards to pricing.
The big question is… if a hospital can reduce its prices from 50,000 to 18,000 for a hip replacement, then where was the other 32,000 coming from in the beginning. That is one mightily hefty margin!!
You have to ask:
If they can do this for the masses who is paying for it?
What would be the cost for an uninsured patient?
Why are other large companies so slow to catch on?
Call me a cynic, but in my personal opinion there are plenty of individuals and organisations on the gravy-train. The politicians, surgeons, hospitals, drug companies and let’s not forget the insurance companies have a lot to answer for.