HACKER Q&A
📣 davidajackson

Do any healthcare companies provide upfront costs?


What the title says. Can you get a literal checklist before everything you do with a cost. The insurance/billing after model is so unpredictable.


  👤 kognate Accepted Answer ✓
Assuming you mean in the USA: a few. ASC’s (Ambulatory Surgical Centers) are more likely to do this in areas with a lot of cash payers. In Ohio and PA there are healthcare agencies that cater to the Amish and Amish-adjacent that will often have cash-price lists.

However, for a lot of health care the checklist you describe simply doesn’t exist. If I enter an ER/Urgent care there is no checklist that can be provided before I agree to anything. Insurance companies have extensive information about these costs, but that info is proprietary and not easily available (this information is used for a lot “prequalify before treatment” type things).

The one exception here is Medicare/Medicaid expenses. Both systems have exhaustive price lists for ICD/CPT/etc codes.