Unhealthy pricing schemes

My spouse has a knee problem. Nothing major, but a significant nuisance nonetheless that will necessitate an operation. As we sat with the orthopedic doctor that will operate on her, we asked him how the whole procedure was likely to cost us. In a typical manner that I have seen with many healthcare professionals, he wasn't crazy about a question that's still taboo to them and even less about providing us with a clear answer.

He began by saying that he couldn't speak for the hospital fee and the cost of anesthesia, and said that his fee for the 15 minute operation would be in the $4,000 range, but if we paid right away (read in advance of the operation) he'd give us a 50% discount. Later that day, while consulting with my insurance, I found out that the agree-upon fee the carrier would pay would be slightly under $1,000 which is four times less than the doctor's first pronouncement! This left me with the impression that, like with discounters, there was a “suggested retail,” a price after regular discount and then a rock-bottom price for those who knew how to negotiate (the insurance company).

Something reminiscent of used-car salesman tactics, but not acceptable or even reassuring when it comes to treating our bodies. While everyone in America has been “deleveraging,” it's about time our health professional began picking up the pace to joining us in that direction and treating us more like patient and less like consumers whose interests will be trampled upon, if no one is watching for them...