A Personal Journey - From the Founder of Wellness37

$129,092.10 per hour. That's what I estimate I was billed for recent medical services.

And here's the bill.

Problem #1

My physician works for a hospital, and that's where he sent me.
To be very clear though, I'm not knocking the doctor, in fact he's a great doctor that I like a lot - caring, skilled, takes time with me, owns a winery - everything a doctor should be. But he sent me for imaging where he works.

Problem #2

There were cheaper options.
When I got the orders from my doctor, I called another surgeon friend to see if I could shop this.
That surgeon called a doctor he knows at a local diagnostic center and he was told I could show up and pay ~$1000 for the procedure.

Problem #3

It was the wrong procedure.
My doctor wrote orders for the CT without contrast.
The hospital billed insurance for CT with contrast.

Let's assume the hospital decision to order a more expensive CT with contrast was nothing but an honest clerical mistake.

Problem #4

They ran the wrong procedure.
The bill says CT with contrast, but the tech gave me a CT without contrast.
Again, let's assume this mistake only righted the last mistake.

Problem #5

The CT took 10 minutes.
Make that hourly and they are billing >$100,000 per hour.

Problem #6

The bill to insurance from the hospital was $21,515.35, the patient (me) is responsible for $22.33 excluding my deductible.
There is just some massive disconnect between the patient and provider in our healthcare market.

Problem #7

There is zero price transparency in medical markets. Does a CT cost $1000 or $21,515.35?
Who knows.

Something Has to Stop the Insanity

Wellness 37. Direct care. Consumer choice. Transparent pricing.

There is nothing else in our lives that matters more than our health, yet there is nothing else in our lives that we have less control of than our healthcare.

We are giving you the tools to take control. The decision to act is yours.