“Patients with Medicare and private insurance don’t pay the sticker price of health care,” says Stacie Dusetzina. “They pay a discounted rate. However, uninsured patients don’t have the bargaining power, or they may not try to negotiate for a better price.” (Credit: iStockphoto)
“Uninsured cancer patients are paying anywhere from two to 43 times what Medicare would pay for chemotherapy drugs.
“A new study shows that Medicare recipients, private insurance patients, and the uninsured all pay different prices for the same treatment.
“Researchers reviewed newly available Medicare data on what physicians charged for chemotherapy drugs delivered intravenously in 2012. Uninsured patients who did not negotiate the billed amounts could expect to pay $6,711 for an infusion of the colorectal cancer drug oxaliplatin.”
