Mighty pricey, this Prostate Cancer stuff.

Yes, pricing in the USA is exorbitant and unreal, to say the least. Here is just one example of pricing in Germany in top hospitals :
https://us-uk.bookimed.com/clinics/country=germany/procedure=radical-prostatectomy-via-da-vinci-robotic-surgery/
Not to mention that after surgery patient stays usually for couple of days in the hospital with full care. Some until catheter is out and than PT automatically begins. All is 100% coverd by their insurance, of course and everybody has an insurance.

One of my daughter bosses was located in Germany and he got some "health problems" and took a year off, full pay lol 😋, and came after a year to work no problem. *ehhhh One can only dream of such things here lol

My DaVinci method RP was done this May. My last MRI was done last year so this year basically started out with a guided biopsy done in January. Below is my total for the year so far which also includes, PET Scan, surgery, one night in the hospital, numerous Dr visits and a couple ER trips. I have UHC/AARP Medicare supplement HMO/POS. I pay and extra $37/month on top of the regular Medicare payment for dental, eyesore and hearing aid coverage. I'm going to be looking at about $243.50/month for 2026, that's an 11.6% increase over last year, GEEZ!!!

The best news is by far my first PO PSA test done in August was undetectable, I test again in 4 weeks.

Total billed, so far this year
Discounts and adjustments $164,661.37
Health plan pays $21,141.29
Your share $1,420.83
Total billed $187,223.49

My surgery which is included in total above:
Provider billed plan
$42,659.00
Total cost (allowed amount)
$9,902.11
Plan paid
$9,410.07
Coinsurance / copay
$300.00
Deductible
$0.00
Your share
$300.00

In Ontario, most of the cost of a radical prostatectomy comes out of the hospital's baseline funding, so there's no schedule of fees I can check, but from a quick search it looks like the typical estimated cost to taxpayers (directly and indirectly) just before the pandemic was around CA $10K–20K, with the higher end of that range for robotic procedures. It's probably gone up a bit since then. And of course, if there are complications, it could cost the system a few thousand more.

so Why medical bills are so high :
Instead of being a tax strategy, high hospital charges are driven by a complex mix of factors:
Negotiating power: Hospitals set high "chargemaster" prices as a starting point for negotiations with insurance companies, who then negotiate for substantial discounts. The sticker price is rarely what an insured patient or their provider pays.
Cost shifting: High prices for some services or patients help cover the financial shortfalls from caring for Medicare and Medicaid patients, for whom reimbursement rates do not cover the full cost of care.
Covering losses from the uninsured: High charges also help compensate for the costs of care provided to uninsured patients who cannot pay.
High operating costs: Labor costs, new technology, and pharmaceuticals are all major expenses for hospitals.
Administrative costs: The complex, multi-payer system in the U.S. creates substantial administrative costs for billing and coding.

and basically, the insured help pay for the uninsured and those who dont pay their bill...( like the US paying for illegal alien healthcare- it aint free..and we all pick up parts of the tab...kinda like slackers hitting a bar and order way more food and drink than they can pay for and then passing the hat to cover it..restaurant is ok collecting most of the bill and thrilled they left...seen it around here a few times)

@xahnegrey40
So, to your first point, are you saying that the hospital will not actually receive the roughly 200 grand--in my case--in listed expenses due to Blue Cross subsequently negotiating for a lower rate?

@xahnegrey40

Decided to erase since I do not wish this to be blocked for no reason again lol

I hope this isn't political (we all dislike excessive bureaucracy, right? 🙂) but I think where @xahnegrey40 hit the nail on the head was the huge administrative overhead in the U.S. healthcare system, both inside and outside the hospitals. A lot of people (however well intentioned) are pushing virtual paper to each-other to bill mainly for the cost of pushing virtual paper to each-other.

The price of surgery covers not only the salaries of the doctors, nurses, researchers, cleaners, caterers, pharmacists, etc, but the salaries of a surprisingly large number of people who've never had contact with patients. And it's hard to change, because about 20 million Americans rely on the current system for their paycheques — major reform has the potential to throw the U.S. economy into chaos. 😕

@northoftheborder
I think what you say is substantially correct.
Canada, of course, has what's described as a "single payer health care system" (well, per province), and the US also does have such a system as well, nation-wide, but just for older folks who qualify for medicare. This is why a "Medicare for All " system in the US could make a great deal of sense. That would probably do away with much of the bureaucratic, etc needless layers of duplication and complication. I think Medicare has a greater amount of clout dealing with pharmaceutical companies, certainly, and probably other entities as well, in regards to their pricing.

Cost is one area where I am INCREDIBLY fortunate. My job gives me an amazing insurance plan. I pay $190 a month, $10 per non-hospital doctor visit, 10% of hospital charges, $5 for generic medications and $50 for brand name (though the Orgovyx copay program handled that). My maximum out of pocket for all expenses other than the premium and prescriptions is $1,000 and I'd already reached that before getting diagnosed with prostate cancer so I have no idea of the cost of any of my PC treatment--never saw a bill.

If I'd been unlucky enough to get sick towards the end of the calendar year, it could have cost $2,000 which, I understand, would still be a bargain in the U.S.

I'm dreading having to go on Medicare in a few years which will be much more expensive.

I hope my comment did not offend anyone- we have great medicine in the USA and it is charitable to a point..however, sooner or later, the doctors, the nurses, the labs etc.. all need a check every 2 weeks...and if our system is over run by folks getting freebies, sooner or later it will become socialized..and everyone will suffer...as an example, I once sat in Memorial City Hospital ( Houston) ER area for 3 hrs- with kidney stone attack..waiting for the doctors to see the endless line of freeway workers ( Katy Freeway was being widened to 150 lanes at the time;=) so when I finally saw a doc and he quickly diagnosed me and shot me full of painkiller, I asked who all the previous customers were..he said they were the freeway workers...they showed up most everyday..none had insurance...I asked the doc who paid for them....he said " you folks with insurance do"