It's not just patients who are stunned to see what a hospital charges for services.
Two groups of pediatricians are taking a stand in Anchorage, Alaska, after learning that Alaska Regional Hospital is charging $2,110 for a circumcision — almost 10 times more than the $235 that Providence Hospital, the city's other major health facility, charges. Those prices are on top of a doctor's bill.
"We were, I think, shocked by the price we were hearing," says Dr. Charles Ryan, one of the physicians at Anchorage Pediatric Group. He and his partners no longer perform circumcisions at the 250-bed Alaska Regional. Another pediatric practice, LaTouche Pediatrics, also has stopped most of its circumcisions there.
Ryan now performs the procedure in his office for $700, the same as he charged in the hospital. He says Alaska Regional is a good hospital but its price for circumcisions is "wildly abnormal." The hospital provides a small tray of sterilized and reusable instruments for the doctor and a nurse to help take care of the baby during the short procedure.
Kjerstin Lastufka, a spokeswoman for Alaska Regional, says in an email that the cost is based in part on the hospital's need to be ready to treat medical emergencies. Read More
Two groups of pediatricians are taking a stand in Anchorage, Alaska, after learning that Alaska Regional Hospital is charging $2,110 for a circumcision — almost 10 times more than the $235 that Providence Hospital, the city's other major health facility, charges. Those prices are on top of a doctor's bill.
"We were, I think, shocked by the price we were hearing," says Dr. Charles Ryan, one of the physicians at Anchorage Pediatric Group. He and his partners no longer perform circumcisions at the 250-bed Alaska Regional. Another pediatric practice, LaTouche Pediatrics, also has stopped most of its circumcisions there.
Ryan now performs the procedure in his office for $700, the same as he charged in the hospital. He says Alaska Regional is a good hospital but its price for circumcisions is "wildly abnormal." The hospital provides a small tray of sterilized and reusable instruments for the doctor and a nurse to help take care of the baby during the short procedure.
Kjerstin Lastufka, a spokeswoman for Alaska Regional, says in an email that the cost is based in part on the hospital's need to be ready to treat medical emergencies. Read More
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