Opaque: adjective, not able to be seen through; not transparent Medical pricing is beyond opaque. It’s a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. Many readers will recognize that this clever phrase is not my own. Throughout my career, I have been unable to provide an accurate answer to the perennial inquiry, how much does a colonoscopy cost? Patients, of course, find this to be baffling. This ignorance is certainly not restricted to my specialty of gastroenterology. Does it make sense, for example, that the same medication may have wildly different pricing at different pharmacies or in different cities? In contrast, we would expect to find a similar price for a gallon of milk among supermarkets. My strong suspicion is that seemingly irrational, inflated and complex medical pricing is all by design to serve those on the billing end – hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and pharmacy benefit managers. Before you accuse me leaving physicians off of thi
MD Whistleblower presents vignettes and commentaries on the medical profession. We peek 'behind the medical curtain' and deliver candor and controversy in every post.