Thanks to a reader for sending this in:
The Surgery Center of Oklahoma
Check out the costs of different procedures below. They are far below standard costs.
I hope the information helps someone in need of inexpensive alternatives.
Please note that I am not a medical expert of any kind and have not checked this facility. I know nothing about the quality and posted it here simply to show readers that there are alternatives. It’s up to each person to check, do their research, and ask questions. I take no responsibility for anyone who uses this facility and is dissatisfied, injured, or hurt in any way.
From the website:
“It is no secret to anyone that the pricing of surgical services is at the top of the list of problems in our dysfunctional healthcare system. Bureaucracy at the insurance and hospital levels, cost shifting and the absence of free market principles are among the culprits for what has caused surgical care in the United States to be cost prohibitive. As more and more patients find themselves paying more and more out of pocket, it is clear that something must change. We believe that a very different approach is necessary, one involving transparent and direct pricing.
Transparent, direct, package pricing means the patient knows exactly what the cost of the service will be upfront. Fees for the surgeon, anesthesiologist and facility are all included in one low price. There are no hidden costs, charges or surprises.
The pricing outlined on this website is not a teaser, nor is it a bait-and-switch ploy. It is the actual price you will pay. We can offer these prices because we are completely physician-owned and managed. We control every aspect of the facility from real estate costs, to the most efficient use of staff, to the elimination of wasteful operating room practices that non-profit hospitals have no incentive to curb. We are truly committed to providing the best quality care at the lowest possible price.”
This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. The current system has medical costs determined by how much a hospital can get away with billing an insurance company. Or worse yet, the government.
Essentially blank checks. The non-profit hospital Michelle Obama ‘worked’ at is the perfect example. Costs were tripled because they were getting a blank check from the government.
It is the same reason our public schools are broke and charter schools pay their teachers more, spend less and achieve more. The power of choice, to paraphrase Milton Friedman.
While it is refreshing to read of one surgical centers cost-centered delivery of medical care, I have seen the transformation of my own cities limited speciality care into specialty centers that, while providing excellent surgery and related costs, bilk the customer with unprofessional physical and occupational therapy services billed at astronomical rates, following surgery. As a therapist who is about to go under as an employee of a “non-profit community hospital, it angers me to no end that so-called “professionals” have managed to find a way to refer services to their own business, be it surgery or therapy, only to provide substandard care. Were this private, I would have no problem, but it is a bilking of Medicare, which we all pay. I will be leaving my community as I refuse to work for the two, physician-owned therapy practices that regularly rape their customers under the cloak of invisibility to oversight. They push their therapists well beyond legal limits to gain profit.
Were all of this cash payment, I would have no problem, but it is not–it is government theft of all of our wealth to fleece the pockets of surgeons-turned-gangsters. Living in a rural area, they have no competition or threat. This is an example of the danger of democracy + fiat money.
I would simply warn consumers that are referred to physical or occupational therapy for “rehabilitation” to thoroughly question why they must pay high fees for that which could be done easily at home.
Hi –
I perfectly agree. Non-profits also tend to exploit a few dedicated people who provide the bulk of the care.
Meanwhile, the PR people, the fundraisers and the managers take home the bulk of the money.
This has been true of every large non-profit I ever worked for. The dedication of a few is exploited by the rest of the management.
On the other hand, I haven’t been impressed by large corporations either. They work on the same principle, it seems. Even when the government is not directly involved, they act like mini-governments. Bureaucracy and waste and a few hard working people who do most of the work – often contract workers – while the senior managers (who operate outside any handbooks or rules) act like a mafia.
The issue, I think, is size.
Earlier this year I ended up in the emergency room thinking I was having a heart attack. Happily, it turned out to be something else that’s not life threatening.
Since I have no insurance I was billed directly by the hospital. The doctor attending me spent a total of 5, maybe 8 minutes max, in my room. His portion of the bill was 600 dollars.
It was itemized and something on it stuck out like a sore thumb: Stop Smoking Counseling. My wife and I wracked our brains since neither of us remembered ANY such thing. Then it hit me. This is how the Stop smoking counseling session went.
Are you a smoker?
How much do you smoke?
You should quit. There are a lot of good programs available.
Cost? 49 dollars. I was outraged, constested the charge and it was waived.
The “high cost of medical care” is obviously loaded with this kind of crap.