31 4/7

No medical updates today. Things are still stable. I've had fun dealing with insurance stuff, getting referrals from my PMD's office and trying to explain why I need to be seen for routine ob visits out of network. By the way, AK is the state abbreviation for Alaska, not Arkansas...

I thought that, while this is a bit off topic, I would just mention a few differences I've noted about Alaska vs Massachusetts medical care. When I went to the outpatient ob/gyn office earlier this week, they gave me a sheet of paper listing the prices of various services, here are a few examples:

Initial office visit: $400 (est. patient), $500 (new patient)

subsequent office visit: $130-240 (depends on level of service and/or length of visit)

ultrasound: $600, twins $950

one hour glucose test: $75

cbc: $48

antibody screen: $75

vaginal delivery: $3,300

vaginal delivery, twins: $4,125

VBAC: $3,700

c-section: $4,500

c-section, twins: $5,625

c-section (attempted VBAC): $5,000

I wonder how much this compares to what Brigham and Women's Hospital charges insurance companies...

I thought it was very interesting, but didn't think too much of it, until I then went to the website of the pediatrician that we will be using temporarily, if I do end up delivering here, and they also discussed the high cost of health care and said that a fee schedule is available on request, although did not specifically mention prices on the web page.

I have never ever ever seen a price listed anywhere at any of my doctors' offices in Boston. I wonder how much of that has to do with the fact that MA essentially has universal health care coverage, so maybe people assume that no one in MA cares about prices or would bother to shop around? I know it never occurred to me to ask. I have only once had a parent comment to me about prices at the clinic where I work, and that was after I had ordered some expensive lab tests and they got a bill in the mail. Even if they had asked me beforehand, I wouldn't have known what those lab tests would have cost, and wouldn't have known how to find the answer for them either. Perhaps there are enough people in AK without insurance that people do shop around. I wonder if that keeps the prices of health care lower in AK, as a result...

Anyway, I hope everyone has a nice weekend. Chris flies home on Sunday, but my mom will be arriving on Tuesday. Thank you to everyone who has sent me cards, flowers, and packages, I really appreciate it!!