Need Inexpensive Surgery? Go Free Market

by Tom Woods
Nov. 01, 2011

Check out the website of the Surgery Center of Oklahoma, which defies current practice by actually listing its prices on its website. Their prices are as low as one-fifth those of typical hospitals. Practitioners avoid government involvement in their practice as much as possible. On the welcome page we read:

If you have a high deductible or are part of a self-insured plan at a large company, you owe it to yourself or your business to take a look at our facility and pricing which is listed on this site. If you are considering a trip to a foreign country to have your surgery, you should look here first. Finally, if you have no insurance at all, this facility will provide quality and pricing that we believe are unmatched.

It is no secret to anyone that the pricing of surgical services is at the top of the list of problems in our dysfunctional healthcare system. Bureaucracy at the insurance and hospital levels, cost shifting and the absence of free market principles are among the culprits for what has caused surgical care in the United States to be cost prohibitive. As more and more patients find themselves paying more and more out of pocket, it is clear that something must change. We believe that a very different approach is necessary, one involving transparent and direct pricing.

Check them out.