How much do medical procedures cost?

When I was writing my health insurance book, I wondered how much various medical procedures cost. I wanted to know how much these medical procedures cost because I wanted to know what the financial implications of various maladies. This would help to know how much insurance is really "worth" and how much one should reasonably expect to pay for health insurance. No point in paying hundreds of dollars a month for insurance when the "perils" that you're insuring cost less than the insurance itself. I was surprised to find that the first year costs for cancer were around $30,000 and the costs for other conditions and was able to compare that to the cost of health insurance.

I found it very hard to know the various costs of health procedures. Sure, I was able to easily call a doctors office, but sometimes the person answering can't tell what the costs are because only the doctor can know what you really need. There are not a lot of resources on this topic, but more and more are becoming available every day. Here are those that I've found (and I'd appreciate knowing about any others that might be out there):

1. Ask around: Asking friends and family is another way to augment the research done by calling a provider directly. The downside here is that we sometimes don't remember correctly.

2. The U.S. Government has combined some data for hospital visits into statistical reports. In order to better understand these major medical costs, I created my own reports from the data collected by the U.S. Government Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AREQ). You can view the medical cost report online at http://www.besthealthinsurancebook.com/Resources/Medical-Cost-by-Principal-Procedure.html.

3. I found that some insurers offer a cost estimate for a limited number of conditions for members. You can browse your insurers website to see if they have any medical cost information.

4. A grass-roots medical pricing database and website called Out of Pocket allows people to contribute rates, as well as to browse them. For example, if you want to know how much a typical chiropractic visit costs, you can browse the medical price database at OutOfPocket.com to see how much an initial visit costs, as well as subsequent visits.

The costs for various medical procedures are a moving target, with prices constantly increasing for many types of conditions. In addition to knowing the costs of these procedures, it is wise to research individual conditions to determine which treatments are appropriate, and which are simply there to increase the bottom line of the providers. So do your research on the condition, figure out the costs of the medical procedures using these resources, and ensure that you get the proper treatments and appropriate reimbursement for eligible expenses from your insurer.