I have seen all of my doctors office swallowed up by hospitals in the last year. In Southwestern Ohio Mercy Health Systems and TriHealth are buying them up. They are following the lead of Christ Hospital who started this years ago at an alarming rate.
As far as my rates go, I did notice almost everything, even items done at the local office, was an outpatient procedure billed by the mother hospital, at least in part. Also something I have noticed in the increase in lab work.
I am a chronic patient, I have a heart implant, feeding tube and an infusion pump that puts baclofen directly in the spinal area.
With co-pays going out of this world under this new system, we have elected to do many things at home that used to be done at the office. Changing out my feeding tube used to cost a few hundred dollars and jumped to over $6000 last fall. My wife now changes it at home. I have my Baclofen pump refilled at home instead of the office by a third party. I elected to send my heart readings over the phone instead of going into the office, except twice a year. Finally, when I make all my appointments within days of each other when possible and make them share lab results. They don't like this but I can't afford all the extra charges out of pocket. Even the monthly b-12 shot had a significant rate increase. Once again, I choose a cheaper route. The local non-affiliated walk-in clinic for the b-12 shot.
It is nice to see this article. It explains alot. At 41 with a form of Parkinson's Plus, the nickle and diming has to stop. I don't know where the $$$ is going to come from.
NE Ohio is the same way. University Hospitals and Cleveland Clinic own everything. One of the last independant hospitals, Parma Regonal, was purchased by UH this past week.
My uncle works for a hospital system that's doing the same "buy up everything" plan. He says it's because once they own all of the medical providers in the county, then they will be able to dictate the price to the insurance, instead of the other way around. What can the insurance companies tell their customers? Go to the next county for healthcare?
Another relative of mine just merged his surgical practice into the hospital system's. The overhead on his practice was getting too high, in particular malpractice insurance.
As far as my rates go, I did notice almost everything, even items done at the local office, was an outpatient procedure billed by the mother hospital, at least in part. Also something I have noticed in the increase in lab work.
I am a chronic patient, I have a heart implant, feeding tube and an infusion pump that puts baclofen directly in the spinal area.
With co-pays going out of this world under this new system, we have elected to do many things at home that used to be done at the office. Changing out my feeding tube used to cost a few hundred dollars and jumped to over $6000 last fall. My wife now changes it at home. I have my Baclofen pump refilled at home instead of the office by a third party. I elected to send my heart readings over the phone instead of going into the office, except twice a year. Finally, when I make all my appointments within days of each other when possible and make them share lab results. They don't like this but I can't afford all the extra charges out of pocket. Even the monthly b-12 shot had a significant rate increase. Once again, I choose a cheaper route. The local non-affiliated walk-in clinic for the b-12 shot.
It is nice to see this article. It explains alot. At 41 with a form of Parkinson's Plus, the nickle and diming has to stop. I don't know where the $$$ is going to come from.