> How are they supposed to predict how long the delivery will take or whether the mother will need a c-section?
In their case it was a scheduled c-section. In any case they can at the least give you a range: min-max.
Additionally, hospitals keep very accurate track of their c-section rates, so even if they are not able to predict yours in particular, they can definitely tell you what your odds are ahead of time.
And, there are other countries and healthcare systems in which they internally take care of the stats/metrics so that they make a decent amount while you pay a reasonable amount that they tell you before you choose to get the procedure.
The hospital doesn't tell you the estimate of anything because they are afraid of the liability (or maybe just accountability).
It's just lazy or maybe too convenient, to say it can't be done. I mean if already health insurance companies can give you a fixed monthly amount to pay, then they know very well how much it's going to cost them, why not tell us?
> And, there are other countries and healthcare systems in which they internally take care of the stats/metrics so that they make a decent amount while you pay a reasonable amount that they tell you before you choose to get the procedure.
That's a difference in the financing system, which hospitals have about as much say in as consumers do.
The insurance companies (including government payers like Medicaid and Medicare) don't just control reimbursement, they control what providers can bill to customers, too. And that includes (by usual and customary charge rules) influencing what they can and need to charge to customers that aren't even being reimbursed by the payer in question.
In their case it was a scheduled c-section. In any case they can at the least give you a range: min-max.
Additionally, hospitals keep very accurate track of their c-section rates, so even if they are not able to predict yours in particular, they can definitely tell you what your odds are ahead of time.
And, there are other countries and healthcare systems in which they internally take care of the stats/metrics so that they make a decent amount while you pay a reasonable amount that they tell you before you choose to get the procedure.
The hospital doesn't tell you the estimate of anything because they are afraid of the liability (or maybe just accountability).
It's just lazy or maybe too convenient, to say it can't be done. I mean if already health insurance companies can give you a fixed monthly amount to pay, then they know very well how much it's going to cost them, why not tell us?