Updated billing on cost additional costs

[DonBecker54]

strongagain, he $89,000 figure is what the insurance companies are initially billed, and it's what they show us patients before they show us what they paid. I suppose it's to impress us with their negotiating skills.

There are a lot of procedures and medications that are much less expensive in Europe than in the US. One reason is that most European countries have nationalized health care. For the medications, the US pharmaceutical companies are limited by the European providers as to what they can charge, so Europeans get the meds for much less. The insurance companies have to get the money to cover R&D and profits somewhere, so we in the US pay more.

[alibaba]

donbecker54, I have to disagree with you somewhat. THEY TELL US that the cost we pay for drugs is due to research but if you read the prospectus on new drugs in development, most of the research is done in poor 3rd world countries. They pay these people $20 to test on them for 6 months. Poor 3rd world people aren't going to sue them if their drug experiment messes them up for life or they drop dead either. That allows them to do experimentation on people on the cheap. Most new drugs are developed in universities who sell them to the drug companies. Students, state, federal and tuition paid teachers and researcher develop them. Drug companies have been highly profitable, buy each others drugs and companies for outrageous prices and seem to have no care what they pay as the WILL pass it on to the consumer unregulated at a profit. That little prick Martin Shkrelli was in that business as are quite a few other venture companies. http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/h ... -1.2369311 Buy a drug that sold for pennies and jack the price. There is a long list of those companies that do just that. Example of new insane drug pricing, the new Hep C drugs. I read one of the companies made back all their development expenses in 9 months of sales. The university doctor that worked on the development said it cost slightly over $100 to make 90 pills that comprise the treatment course. The course costs $90,000 in the U.S., yet in India, the same 90 day course of treatment costs $300. The article started by stating a certain U.S. insurance company was paying your airfare and stay for 3 months if you would go to India for Hep C treatment. It is all about $$$. You go to hospitals and doctors offices in other countries they are simple places of business like any other. You go to a doctors office of hospital in this country and it is like you stepped into a marble and glass art museum. I doctor here was bragging that he spent 1 1/2 million $ decorating his office. Nice, but how did that affect care? The CEO of United Healthcare's salary was $102 million. The CEO of AETNA, Mark Barteloni's salary was $30.7 million. Look at the profit of this one drug company: https://www.stock-analysis-on.net/NYSE/ ... fitability . There is big money made in the unregulated healthcare industry in the country. http://phys.org/news/2014-07-merck-2q-profit.html It is all about profit on a massive scale. Keep in mind your lovely congress and senatepassed a bill after much lobbying, President wreck the country Bush signed it to make it illegal for Medicare and Medicaid to shop prices on drugs or make deals for lower prices from the drug companies. http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?ti ... egislation Being my wife's and my meds run around $90,000 a year, I've spent much time on research on meds and also purchased them around the world including China, Russia, Germany, U.K., Canada, Australia, India and Barbados until the FDA made it near impossible to do the last couple years.

[Electrician]

DOBECKER54 , your right on the 80900 they billed united they sent me the break down less my 1500 co pay I'm self employed they payed 28900. STILL a great deal for me.