Trump releases rule forcing hospitals and insurers to disclose negotiated rates | Hacker News Reader

Trump releases rule forcing hospitals and insurers to disclose negotiated rates

cnbc.com

20 pointshuntermeyer9 comments

> Implementing the changes is likely to cost hospitals less than 1% of their revenue, an official on the call said. Hospitals could be fined $300 a day by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services if they don’t comply with the new disclosure rule, officials said. The administration is also proposing extending the disclosure rules to health insurers.

Interesting. I wonder what that (1% revenue) is in terms of percentage of profit. I would've gone after the insurance industry long before I touched the hospital's bottom line - my grandmother comes to the US, whenever she has an operation, for a reason. That reason is that the money is here, the technology is here, and the best doctors from around the world often end up immigrating here.

But at the same time, plenty of Americans can't afford a basic checkup.

Ideally, we preserve the incentive for the medical and technology communities to come here (money) while reducing the immediate monetary burden on everyday consumers that need to access that healthcare.

The obvious middle-men are the insurance companies. Then again, this isn't a single-variable equation.

Nailed it.

THere are other middle men also, there is an industry of insurance brokers that take a cut to help companies wade through the plethora of bs associated with getting quotes and choosing an insurance company. There are also insurance company reps at every stage of the healthcare process, they review prescriptions, visit your hospital room to try and get you discharged sooner, they maintain call centers and data centers. The middle man aspect of marking up the services is just one layer of the insurance industrial complex. Also many Americans can't afford a checkup because they spend the money they do have on bullshit, it's not that we wake up one day and realize we don't have Medicare for all, we know we WILL have to pay for some healthcare (preventative or emergency) and still elect to eat out and spend beyond our means.

> Also many Americans can't afford a checkup because they spend the money they do have on bullshit, it's not that we wake up one day and realize we don't have Medicare for all

Trust me, I agree with you more than you know.

Reddit just trained me to try and sound less like I'm blaming individuals for making poor financial decisions (if I want my opinion to be heard rather than downvoted into the ninth circle of hell) and to never directly state that I don't support (current interpretations of) medicare for all.

Reddit is a cesspool, I know what you mean, any hint that you think people might be able to avoid the trouble they are complaining about by planning ahead is down-voted into oblivion. As a conservative leaning commentator I have to abandon my accounts every once in a while

who cares about internet points? Say what you think.

If you earn enough negative karma or points you get shadow banned, or your posts are auto deleted.

At $300 a day it’s a small tax to pay for ignoring the rule.

Hospitals will just raise the rates a little to pass that cost on to the consumer.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com