Wait, what!?
You read that correctly. Private companies in Michigan pay twice as much for the same hospital services as the Government pays for Medicare patients.
So what gives?
Here's Five Fast Facts …… :
- 🚀 Prices are rocketing - The problem isn't new, but it's getting worse faster than Elon Musk’s Twitter deal. You see, in 2018 private companies paid 157% of what medicare patients paid, and in 2020 that number jumped to 203%.
- 👉🏻👉🏻 Fingers are pointing - These findings are from a study called the RAND, and not everyone believes the results. The Economic Alliance of Michigan, which represents employers, says that Michigan hospitals raised their prices deliberately after the first study showed they were charging below the national average.
- 👈🏻👈🏻 And more fingers are pointing back - And on the other rotten hand, the CEO of the Michigan Health & Hospital Association says the RAND study is flawed because it does not show hospital costs accurately. Who are we to believe?
- 🍔 Caught in the middle - While the insurance companies and hospitals are busy beefing like Biggie and Tupac, you're paying the price. Higher prices charged to your employer are passed on to you, and your paycheck takes the hit.
- 💪 Paging the ghost of Tony Soprano - The only way out of this issue is for private companies to channel their inner mob bosses and demand that hospitals negotiate their prices. Competition for pricing is better for everyone, especially hard working Michigan Paychecks.
🔥Bottom line: Unfortunately, there isn't much you can do here to save money unless you can afford to buy insurance privately or try out healthcare sharing programs. In the meantime, check with your employer about options for healthcare and be ready to make changes if the opportunity arises.
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