only offers you targeted list of doctors, physicians, surgeons, chiropractors and other medical professionals compiled in a directory data format. If you are wondering why it is important to have a database of medical professionals, it's because information is important to every type of business.

      You never know when you're gonna need a doctor. It doesn't have to be strictly related to health issues - you may need to offer them your services or promote a new product. Whatever the reason may be, it's certainly good to have their contact details in your possession. The rule is "the more the merrier". The more doctors email addresses, mailing lists and telephone numbers you have in your hands, the better. At this point, you probably understand that having such a list of doctors is definitely a good thing for your business, if nothing else, then just for emergency. But, you probably wouldn't be eager to pay a couple hundred dollars for a physician directory.

      We understand that, as if you get in a need of a medical help, you can simply use Google or ask someone for a recommendation. Actually, it's obvious that not many people would want to buy a list for "just in case". But, this list is not intended for that! Actually, we complied this list mainly for business, research and informational purposes. Companies nowadays won't mind paying few hundred bucks for convenience. Imagine having millions of doctor's profile and contact details!

Story by DR. David Belk

      A few years ago, a patient of mine called my office because she was worried that she might have a urinary tract infection. She had recently lost her job and her health insurance, but she wanted to be sure about the infection because she didn't want to take antibiotics unnecessarily. I called the lab at the local hospital and asked how much they charged for a urine analysis. They told me that it was 92 dollars! I couldn't believe it. 92 dollars for a test that requires a plastic cup, a 25 cent dipstick and 2 minutes of a technician's time! I called around to other local labs and the cheapest price I was quoted was 32 dollars. This was better than the first price but, compared to the four to five dollars they would get from most insurance companies, it was obscene.

      This brings me to the subject of diagnostic tests and how much they should really cost. Most blood and urine tests are done with simple chemicals that cost anywhere from a few pennies to a couple of dollars. This means that it cost little more than that to run most of these tests. Add the lab time, and most tests still only cost a few dollars (labs are pretty efficient at running tests). There are a few expensive tests, such as genetic tests, but these are not frequently used in a routine screening or diagnostic work up.

      The cost of radiology tests can be broken down in a similar fashion. There is the original cost of the X-ray machine, CT scanner or MRI which are usually bought and paid for by the hospital or diagnostic center. In addition, there are the costs of maintaining the machinery (which is usually a fixed annual fee), paying the staff, preparing certain patients for the tests and the radiologist's fee for reading the X-ray.

In fact, here's a site that offers reasonable cash prices for many medical tests and procedures in many parts of the US.

      The insurance companies know all of these costs and try to reimburse the minimum amount that the institution running the test is likely to accept whenever they're the ones purchasing the service. Routine blood work, for example, only gets paid a few dollars but a CT scan or MRI will bring in a few hundred dollars. A PET scan (which is relatively new technology) might cost a thousand to fifteen hundred dollars but, as with everything else in technology, the price of this test is dropping.

      How much will they bill you if you try to pay for any of these tests yourself? Well, as you know by now, all tests, procedures, office visits and hospitalizations are billed for an amount that exceeds what they expect from any insurance company (often by a lot) in order to get the maximum amount possible from all of them. This means that anyone who doesn't have insurance, or for whom the insurance claim is denied, will be billed five to ten times what any insurance company would likely pay.

      This not only makes people 100% dependent on their insurance for even the most trivial medical cost but also means they will have to pay an enormous penalty any time anyone makes a mistake ordering or authorizing a test if coverage is denied. In addition, this policy results in millions of people being excluded from healthcare, not because they can't afford it, but because they are not allowed to afford it. Most people could afford these services were they not priced at so many times their actual value.

      Below is a list of commonly ordered medical tests along with a brief explanation of the test, typical billing charges and the reimbursement from Medicare and a sample PPO insurance negotiator. I obtained the billing charges by calling several different hospitals in the San Francisco Bay Area.

      Private labs and imaging centers that are not affiliated with hospitals charge less than hospitals, but some still charge well above what most insurance companies are likely to pay (they are getting much better though). It's pretty clear, even from this short list of tests and procedures, that that the institutions providing them do not want you to pay for them yourself. The question is, why? Why would any organization go so far out of their way to discourage direct payment? This is especially strange when you consider what a nightmare it is to deal with insurance companies.

      Also, consider how much the insurance companies have to pay for these tests. If that's all you had to pay, how hard would that be? How do the prices of these tests compare to the price of a tank of gasoline, a bag of groceries or a tune up for your car? Even the most expensive tests listed wouldn't cost you as much as a transmission overhaul so, why do we have to pay so much to have our insurance cover them?

Source: http://truecostofhealthcare.org/diagnostic-tests