Latest evidence that what we need is healthcare transparency - not insurance - the cost of an MRI in Florida:
Bottom Line: Anytime we have new research demonstrating the variance for medical care costs I've made an effort to share the information with you. It supports my narrative that what we really need is an end to the insurance first model of healthcare (we need insurance to be only for major medical needs a la all other forms of insurance in our lives). Due to the lack of price and service transparency most have no idea what anything costs...Including this...
- The cost of an average MRI in Florida is...$225 to $1850
Same MRI, $1625 worth of variance...But if you don't know what anything costs - how would you know whether you were at the $1850 center? This reminds me of a real world circumstance I was involved with about nine years ago. There was a non-emergency medical service I needed. I was quoted (after having to wait three days to get a straight answer) $8500. I decided to see who the top rated doctor was for the medical service needed. Turns out it was a doctor in Tampa. The cost $500. No kidding. So I went to Tampa. Want to bring down the cost of healthcare? Get insurance and the lack of transparency out of the way.