TAXPAYERS, the ultimate funders of health systems, have no idea of actual costs of services.
When I was knocked flat by what turned out to be a serious bone infection three weeks ago, I didn’t have a second thought about heading off to the nearest public hospital.
While being investigated and treated I racked up an impressive list of procedures. They were plain X-rays, ultrasound, echocardiogram, two MRI scans, radio-isotope bone scan, trans-oesophageal echocardiogram and insertion of central venous cannula.
I know I will never receive an invoice, so I can only guess that the retail costs would take a big chunk out of $10,000. Some of the expenses will be transferred, under agreement, to my private hospital insurance.
Some of them will be billed to Medicare. Presumably, all of the costs will be accounted for, somewhere, somehow, but never on the same page.
The public is excluded from the financial realities of the health debate. We are left with assurances from politicians and bureaucrats that ”you can trust us, don’t concern yourselves with the details”. That’s a convenient formula, but it’s not reform, and it’s a political dead-end.
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A shorter version sent to AFR
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Also Ken Davidson
Until there is a common system of communications for patient and financial records, it will be impossible to achieve the truly revolutionary objective of integrating hospital and primary care – something that will require the building of health structures around the needs of patients rather than the needs of providers.
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