Just had a recent physical - I got a low value for a test and it kicked off more tests, a visit to a specialist, more tests and no conclusion besides 'let's wait and see' which I could have done without draining my HSA. If the price of care was reasonable, sure, let's be proactive but because PCPs don't really seem to do anything but refer you to a specialist and any visit to a specialist + tests will immediately trigger thousands of dollars in bills, even if you're insured you're going be paying your deductible plus like 10-30% after that.
I got a random lab bill for like $650 (discounted from $2500) and in the follow up visit everyone agreed that was high but no could explain why it was that expensive - medicare's fee schedule has the same code costing $90. Until we stop this madness of providers basically charging whatever opaque negotiated random amount they want to insurers who then pass that down to charge payers after collecting a % the prices are just going to continue to go up and the broken medical system will stay fucked - with the consequence that the economics aren't going to make sense to seek proactive care.
I got a random lab bill for like $650 (discounted from $2500) and in the follow up visit everyone agreed that was high but no could explain why it was that expensive - medicare's fee schedule has the same code costing $90. Until we stop this madness of providers basically charging whatever opaque negotiated random amount they want to insurers who then pass that down to charge payers after collecting a % the prices are just going to continue to go up and the broken medical system will stay fucked - with the consequence that the economics aren't going to make sense to seek proactive care.