Estimates Don’t Work
When hospitals and insurance companies don’t post their upfront prices, they can charge you whatever they want. That is why medical debt is the leading cause of personal bankruptcy in America.
Estimates are not binding, do not hold hospitals accountable, and leave patients vulnerable to overcharges, errors, and fraud.
88% of registered voters believe that hospitals should be required to post all actual prices, not estimates, in advance of planned care, according to an April 2023 poll. That’s because millions of Americans have been impacted by surprise bills.
A Colorado patient faces $75,116 in medical debt after a hysterectomy at Avista Adventist Hospital, whose estimator tool displays an estimate of only $8,088 for the procedure.
A South Carolina patient was billed $8,424 for a breast biopsy after receiving a $1,400 estimate.
Real prices — not estimates — protect patients and lower costs.
Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois clearly posts its upfront prices so consumers can spot the wide price variation.
Transparent facilities like Walmart Health Clinics offer upfront, guaranteed prices.
Several price transparent surgical centers, such as the Surgery Center of Oklahoma and Texas Free Market Surgery have long published their guaranteed, all-in surgery prices, which are small fractions of what the big hospital systems charge.
