Ross: Doctor fights against hospitals operating more like casinos
Apr 18, 2019, 7:40 AM | Updated: Apr 26, 2019, 12:38 pm
It happens every day: You go into a hospital for a short, routine procedure, and instead of one bill, you get slapped with a bill numbering somewhere in the thousands of dollars.
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It’s like buying a car, and then getting a surprise bill for the steering wheel and the gas pedal.
Well, here’s one doctor who thinks those surprise bills are illegal, and who testifies on behalf of patients who fight them:
“And I tell the judges, look you don’t have to pay the bill, there’s no contract — there’s no prices disclosed to the patients,” said Johns Hopkins Oncologist Marty Makary.
Dr. Makary is on a crusade to get employers to contract only with medical providers willing to disclose prices up front, as a way to thwart the corporate conglomerates, who he says have turned hospitals into casinos.
“Half of women with stage four breast cancer in the United States today are being actively harassed by medical collectors — that is a disgrace,” he noted.
He even took his case directly to the president.
“He listened; he was moved by the stories,” said Makary. “Say what you want about him — he’s not a perfect person, but I could not have been more impressed at how he responded to those patients, and vowed to do something.”
So, maybe there will be a big beautiful health care plan after all. Although fair warning: If it’s Dr Makary’s plan, some really big companies are not going to like it.
You can check out Dr. Makary’s website here.
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Tune in to KIRO Newsradio weekdays at 5am for Dave Ross on Seattle's Morning News.
