The procedure was Ms. Clarke’s second hip surgery. Her first operation ended up costing $64,000, twice the price she was originally quoted.
At the Surgery Center of Oklahoma, the procedure cost her $22,000.
Keith Smith, MD, and a colleague opened the ASC in 2009 and decided to post package procedure prices online after years of watching patients manage unpredictable healthcare costs.
“We basically felt like accessories to a crime, and that really wasn’t what we had in mind when we went to medical school,” Dr. Smith told Full Measure. “The hospitals were making a killing, and the patients were financially being abused.”
The center, owned and operated by about 40 surgeons, includes fees for the surgeon, anesthesiologist and facility in one price.
