We say, ‘Here’s the price. Here’s what you’re getting. Here’s your bill” – What Happens When Doctors Only Take Cash | Time.com

Uugh… good things happen? Just guessin’ (not really).

The catch is that the whole facility is cash-based. It doesn’t take insurance of any kind. Not Aetna. Not Cigna. Not Medicare or Medicaid. Patients or their employers pay whatever price is listed online, period. There are no negotiated rates, no third-party reimbursements and almost no paperwork. “We say, ‘Here’s the price. Here’s what you’re getting. Here’s your bill,'” says Keith Smith, who co-founded the Surgery Center in 1997 with fellow anesthesiologist Steven Lantier. “It’s as simple as that.”

To Villa, the model seemed refreshingly subversive. The Surgery Center would charge $19,000 for his whole-knee replacement, a discount of nearly 50% on what Villa expected to be charged at his local hospital. And that price would include everything from airfare to the organization’s only facility, in Oklahoma City, to medications and physical therapy. If unforeseen complications arose during or after the procedure, the Surgery Center would cover those costs. Villa wouldn’t see another bill.

Rotator Cuff surgery repair is $8250. I had biceps tendon surgery in Longmont with a bone spur removed from my rotator cuff (which was the cause of the problem). The total cost was around $11,000, which seems fairly reasonable.

What’s not to like? Well, at the moment you have to pay unless you can convince your employer’s insurance plan to pay. Plans that are self insured should be most open to this idea.

How easy would it be to create insurance plans that encouraged the use of this type of service? Inquiring minds want to know.