Part 1 in a Series.  So the story goes like this.  A patient of mine needed a chest x-ray.  He doesn't have health insurance, so rather than just give him a requisition and send him to the local hospital, I decided to do a little calling around on his behalf to find out what the damage would be…

Vendor #1: A well-known local hospital

I called up the radiology department and asked them how much a PA and Lateral Chest X-ray would cost.  “I don't know – we don't have that information” I was told by the clerk.  The radiologist gave me the same answer.  They both said I should just send the patient over and he would find out the cost when he received the bill.

That seemed a little dumb.  Since when do we go into stores and buy things without knowing the price?

So Read More