Articles to share - 1st on docs and pain meds, 2nd on the cost of surgery

[Guest guest]

In todays " Los Angeles Times " , there were two articles that I think would be of

interest to the group. I'm going to include the links below for everyone.

The first is an article about why doctors are so scared of prescribing

narcotics. We all know this firsthand, but I think it's interesting to hear

from the doctor's perspective what's going on.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-banks-20100424,0,6414204.column

The second article is about the HUGE difference charged by hospitals for

surgeries and how some insurance companies may be resorting to " lump payments. "

This article looks at the amount billed for hip surgery in different hospitals

across CA. The difference is the charge for the same surgery varies from

$40,000 to as high as $103,000!! That's quite a bit of difference. The point

of the article is that some insurers are switching to an " everything is included

price " for surgeries of this type. I know that some of us on this list will be

faced with these kind of surgeries and it's important to know about costs and

pricing. My aunt's husband needed this surgery and she discovered that if she

offered CASH, the price dropped. She was able to get the doctor of her choice

at a local hospital, but negotiated the price based on the cost at OTHER

hospitals. She had had the forethought to get price quotes from other

hospitals. In other words, despite what the hospitals want you to think, the

price of these surgeries is NOT carved in stone.

http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-fi-healthcare-costs-20100424,0,5443012\

..story

I hope this information is helpful to a few people on this list.