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Comment by crispytx | Hacker News Reader

My wife's wheelchair that the insurance company is paying for costs $6,000. The "loaner" wheelchair she's using now costs $400. The $6,000 chair being built is essentially the same as the $400 chair. Fraud like this is the reason we have the most expensive per capita healthcare in the world.

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Exactly. Insurance companies don't care, because a lot of commercial clients are self-insured, and they just pass on the cost. If anything, they make more money off of administrative fee by selling higher ticket items.

The only true way to fix this is to set costs centrally.

My mother needed a wheelchair, we went to Amazon and bought a $300 one instead of the $6000 one the insurance company wanted us to buy. No difference that we can tell.

good thing is those are the things you can shop around -easier-. when you are in a hospital getting care, you have very little idea about how much it's going to cost you.

Also don't throw stuff away. I had injured my knee and has surgery to correct it. I bought a walker until I got better. When my father got sick he borrowed my walker instead of buying a new one.

If you look in thrift stores you can find canes and walkers as well sometimes.

It is just like OTC aspirin, bring in your own bottle to save money as if a nurse gives it to you, you are charged $50 a pill. Buy one for $1 at a Dollar Store and use that.

Wouldn't the insurance company be interested in a solution that cost less? For example, if you told them you found a store that sold a new, cheaper wheelchair (another comment says they're on Amazon), wouldn't they rather pay for that one, given the option? Or are there liability concerns that would get in the way?

If the price is over the maximum deductible for the patient, insurance companies are interested in more expensive things. This gives the insurance company latitude to increase costs.

Since there's a legal limit on profit margins, increasing costs will let them increase revenue elsewhere...earning 8% on $2000 is more interesting than 8% on $1000.

Doctors don't care about the price because they're not paying. You don't care about the price because it's over your deductible. Insurers don't care because they have latitude to raise prices every year. manufacturers don't care because the decision makers don't care.

The French system has a "base price" that they will reinburse for medical supplies/tools. Doctors can go over, but then it's out of pocket for the patient.

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