Cost of Implant

[SW0110]

My hospital bill alone was 175000. I ended up paying 800. After all the ins disallowances.

[ImplantMan]

I hope you have insurance.....Right?

[rdnkbiker]

my bill was 89k was not expecting that either since insurance dropped the ball with self pay lots of negotiations i got it to 59k which im sur it will be replaced before its payed for but keep chipping away no regrets for sure
jim

[notaes]

My bill was $70,000. My Medicare paid $68,000 and my supplement insurance picked up the remainder. I did not have to pay one penny out of my pocket. God is good.

[FreddyFree]

Paying for my implant was so simple, I went in, got it done and walked out without paying a cent...

[implant1959]

Paying for my implant was so simple, I went in, got it done and walked out without paying a cent...

this really says nothing since there is no explanation.
Did you?
1. Just not pay your bill?
2. Met your maximum out of pocket for the year?
3. Have Medicaid?

[Txagq8]

Paying for my implant was so simple, I went in, got it done and walked out without paying a cent...

News flash. I had this same discussion with Freddy, about a year ago.

If I’m not mistaken, he is In Canada where health care costs the patient nothing. You might have to wait a while, you might die of the cancer before the oncologist can see you, but you can’t beat the price.

All things related to American health care, in his view, are substandard. If I remember our discussions correctly.

BTW, his implant wasn’t free. He may not have paid for it, but Canadian taxpayers did. And I suspect by the time they finish paying all of the salaries of bureaucrats and second handlers within the Canadian National Health Service (whatever it’s called) his implant cost as much of not more than the MSRP the hospital billed my insurance carrier.

[Gt1956]

Paying for my implant was so simple, I went in, got it done and walked out without paying a cent...

News flash. I had this same discussion with Freddy, about a year ago.

If I’m not mistaken, he is In Canada where health care costs the patient nothing. You might have to wait a while, you might die of the cancer before the oncologist can see you, but you can’t beat the price.

All things related to American health care, in his view, are substandard. If I remember our discussions correctly.

BTW, his implant wasn’t free. He may not have paid for it, but Canadian taxpayers did. And I suspect by the time they finish paying all of the salaries of bureaucrats and second handlers within the Canadian National Health Service (whatever it’s called) his implant cost as much of not more than the MSRP the hospital billed my insurance carrier.

The sad part of this discussion is that these phony prices that are thrown around give non Americans a warped sense of our healthcare. Txagq8, you are correct on the tax side. I have in laws that live in a nice European country. The cousin told me that part of his money is taxed at 70%. I understood that to mean that part of his income was taxed at that rate because they had a progressive tax structure much like the USA does. You'd think at tax rates like that you could get an implant every year.
I understand the good & bad with our system. I still think it's among the best available. I just wish it was a bit better.

[Txagq8]

The sad part of this discussion is that these phony prices that are thrown around give non Americans a warped sense of our healthcare. Txagq8, you are correct on the tax side. I have in laws that live in a nice European country. The cousin told me that part of his money is taxed at 70%. I understood that to mean that part of his income was taxed at that rate because they had a progressive tax structure much like the USA does. You'd think at tax rates like that you could get an implant every year.
I understand the good & bad with our system. I still think it's among the best available. I just wish it was a bit better.

Gt, you’re a pretty smart guy. Then again, you were born in 56, right? I think all of us ‘56 models are pretty sharp.

One thing about getting older is you tend to remember how things used to be. Sometimes that’s a mixed blessing. I can recall as a kid of 5, maybe 6.....an office visit to the family doctor was $4. There was no Medicare, Medicaid, and health insurance typically paid for big ticket stuff like appendectomies or childbirth. Not a cold or strep throat or bout with mono.

It was only after government involvement via the aforementioned programs that prices began to soar and you never knew what anything would cost. It’s worse than booking an airplane seat. In the perfect world they’d hand you a price list and it’d be like buying a tube of hemorrhoid cream at Walmart.

What we pay for, and to me it is well worth it, is innovation and convenience. It’s Sunday. If I wanted to see my Urologist I could call in the morning and have an appointment for Wednesday. Same deal with Endocrinology, orthopedics, pain clinic. Although it might be a few days later I could be in next week.I could see my family practice guy late Monday, they always save a few same day appointments.

You can’t do that with nationalized medicine.

Also I’m 65. In Canada, or England, some bureaucrat can decide if treating me is worth the return on investment based on how much longer I have left. As long as my insurance carrier will pay, or I will, I can get whatever treatment I want, when I want it.

Yeah, transparency in pricing sucks here. But the quality of care doesn’t. And if you don’t like a particular doctor, you are free to find another.

Since we pay more, and more of our money goes to health care providers instead of admin, we expect more. And despite the picture the media paints, this is basically true for rich and poor. A cousin who was retired from long haul trucking but not yet 65 tried to skate for a year with no insurance and had stage IV lung cancer show up. A year long bombardment of the latest in immunotherapy has him showing up in total remission. Don’t know the details but hospital worked with him to levy charges he would be able to afford)

In America, we don’t like to be told by the government what we can and cannot have. If we want and need an implant, then we find an insurance plan that covers one or figure out a way to pay for it or wait until Medicare kicks in. Bottom line is it’s all about choice.

Putting the same people who operate the post office in charge of medical care and penile implants doesn’t sound wise to me.

As far as innovation, I’ve had both covid shots and nowadays run around with no mask like a normal person. I recommend it highly (ps get the Pfizer if you can-no side effects in entire family)

[implant1959]

Paying for my implant was so simple, I went in, got it done and walked out without paying a cent...

News flash. I had this same discussion with Freddy, about a year ago.

If I’m not mistaken, he is In Canada where health care costs the patient nothing. You might have to wait a while, you might die of the cancer before the oncologist can see you, but you can’t beat the price.

All things related to American health care, in his view, are substandard. If I remember our discussions correctly.

BTW, his implant wasn’t free. He may not have paid for it, but Canadian taxpayers did. And I suspect by the time they finish paying all of the salaries of bureaucrats and second handlers within the Canadian National Health Service (whatever it’s called) his implant cost as much of not more than the MSRP the hospital billed my insurance carrier.

What he also forgot to mention includes: How long did it take him to see a Dr? How long did he have to wait for permission to have the surgery? How long did he have to wait to have the surgery?
For me I probably waited 2 weeks for initial appointment, then following day had testing, and 3 business days later met with him to schedule surgery. Surgery was 11 weeks later due to holidays(Dr on vacation, and also not wanting it done right before he went on vacation) and my work schedule.
I am pretty sure it wouldn't have gone this quick in Canada.