GREENSBORO, N.C. — If your car breaks down and needs work or you’re planning a trip to Disney or maybe you're signing yourself up at the gym. You always seem to ask: How much is this going to cost?
For some reason, we don't always ask that when it comes to scheduled medical procedures. How much you pay for a procedure changes depending on the insurance you have and at which hospital you're getting the procedure done.
Take a look at this cost comparison put together by the North Carolina State Treasurer's office. It shows all three hospital systems in our area and the difference in prices which is linked to your insurance.
For example, the NC Treasurer's Office looked at how much it cost to get your appendix removed:
Cone Health $6,353 - $28,899
Wake Forest $9,470 - $47,753
Novant Health $2,711- $25,286
“Can you imagine your viewers if they walked into any establishment and they would be charged more depending on what credit card they have, they'd be charged different prices? That's why we with the State Health Plan are trying to get rid of private health contracts so people can know what they're paying for,” NC State Treasurer Dale Folwell said.
Full transparency, the State Health Plan is the largest customer of the three hospitals. The state treasurer says every person, no matter what health plan you have, needs to look at the medical bills you get, ask for an itemized bill that breaks down all of the costs, and question items that don't look right.