Get a Colonoscopy in Athens to Save $1,000

The cost of colonoscopies, MRIs, CT scans and mammograms can shift a lot from place to place.

It costs $1,090 less to get a colonoscopy in Clarke County than in Barrow County. That's according to data from New Choice Health, a private company that encourages people to become smarter healthcare consumers. The average cost of a colonoscopy is $3,710, while it's $4,800 in Barrow. The hospitals in Clarke County on average also are cheaper on mammograms and MRIs as well. However, CT scans cost $160 more than in Barrow County. These big regional differences have been in the news lately: As the Washington Post wrote on Wednesday, "One hospital charges $8,000 - another $38,000." Using the same data as the Post, The New York Times listed out the prices of a series of procedures in hospitals across the country. The Times and the Post used …

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Are You Paying Fair Prices for Health Care?

A database released by the federal government shows shocking price discrepancies.

How can a medical procedure that costs $7,000 at one hospital cost nearly $100,000 at the hospital down the street? Because patients don't know what anyone charges for anything. That might change soon. The federal government has released a database laying out charges for common medical procedures at hospitals across the country, The Huffington Post reports. Officials said they released the data to make hospitals more intelligent competitors and patients better informed consumers. The results are vexing: What's your reaction to the variation in health care prices? Will this information change how you seek health care? What should be done to improve medical pricing?  Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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Ralph Stepp

11:40 am on Thursday, May 16, 2013

Mr Jones, either you are stupid or guilty of blind support of Obama's Communist policies of big Government being the source of taking care of everyone or perhaps you are sincerely lacking in knowledge of truthful facts coming our hourly regarding world facts. 1. Snowbirds wait until they come to the US for treatments because "it takes too long" or "it is not available through the system in a …   more ›

Georgia Gets Failing Grade in Health Care Price Transparency

Can you guess which two states received A's?

Georgia is one of 29 states to receive a failing grade for price transparency in health care in a study released Monday, March 18.   "... with recent studies showing us that the price for an identical procedure within a market can vary seven-fold with no demonstrable difference in quality, price transparency is more important than ever," Francois de Brantes, executive director for the Health Care Incentives Improvement Institute, and Suzanne Delbanco, executive director for Catalyst for Payment Reform, say in a letter introducing the study. "American consumers deserve to have as much information about the quality and price of their health care as they do about restaurants, cars, and household appliances."  Do you think health care costs …

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Job Seeking in Oconee

Northeast GA Health District Hiring for Multiple Positions

Applications are currently being accepted for full-time work in health care in Athens and Monroe.

Employer: Northeast Health District Description:  Applications are currently being accepted for multiple positions.  Click on the links below to learn more about each position. How to apply: Follow the above links and submit applications online.  These job opportunities were found on Feb. 8, 2013. Some of the listed positions have an application deadline of Feb.15.

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US Supreme Court Weighs in on Health Care

Proponents and opponents of the Affordable Care Act begin the battle in the US Supreme Court today. What's your opinion - constitutional or not?

  The Affordable Care Act goes before the US Supreme Court beginning Monday, March 26. At issue is whether the government overstepped its authority by mandating that Americans purchase health care coverage or pay a tax penalty. There are 26 state attorney generals, including Sam Olsen of Georgia, and some private parties signed on to this suit. So what do you think? Did the federal government overstep its bounds with the law or was it within its authority to legislate this mandate?

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