Cancer Treatment Costs, pt 2

I can’t be the only person who finds it annoying how difficult it is to compare and understand the health care costs of cancer treatment. Why should you know? To be prepared. If you are on Medicare, you want to know so you understand what is your responsibility and what’s theirs. If you are underinsured or uninsured, understanding the costs can help you negotiate.

There's a government agency that has cost data by Medicare procedure code. Also try Medicare, and if they don't compile that information, they should be able to refer to you to the agency that does. If you can find out the Medicare procedure code for the ones you want to check, you can then go to this tool doctors use to check Medicare reimbursements:

https://catalog.ama-assn.org/Catalog/cpt/cpt_search.jsp?_DARGS=/Catalog/...

Also costs for procedures on a state-by-state basis are here: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/services/procedcosts.html