Post Prices at the Hospital

There are so many provisions in the new health care law, it's bound to have some that are good and others that aren't.

Here's a good one. I just ran into it today as I was reading an overview of the bill passed by the Senate in December. (I assume this remained in the legislation that eventually won approval.) Hospitals are to post their prices for standard health-care procedures.

I'm not sure how this shakes out. Will it be just like looking up on the wall behind the counter at the fast food outlet to see a hamburger is $3.89? "Knee replacement: $52,900"?

Probably not.

But, I do like the idea. I do like it that hospitals are going to have to tell us the price BEFORE they perform the surgery. A year ago, while a member of the Democratic Party Health Care Caucus, I suggested we should be quoted a price before we receive any medical care. And, we should be told not only what the total bill will be, but what our share will be after our insurance is used.

When we walk into a store, all the items have prices. When we remodel a home, we get a quote. When we buy a car, of course we get the price instead of driving off the lot and learning a week later how much we owe.

Just why is it health care needs to be different? No, I don't understand. I see no good reason we shouldn't always be given an least an estimate, if not a hard figure.