Surgery Center of Oklahoma is the standard-bearer for upfront health care pricing.
LEADING THE
change A hysterectomy costs $8,000; a tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy, $3,100. A bone marrow biopsy is $5,800. Total knee replacement: $15,499. Those prices—which include pre- and post-operative services, surgeon(s), anesthesia, pathology, facility fees and, in the case of joint replacement, physical therapy and home health— are all offered by Surgery Center of Oklahoma, which has operated outside the traditional health insurance system for nearly 25 years. During that time, the number of surgeons and the range of procedures provided at the Oklahoma City facility has increased dramatically. More broadly, Surgery Center of Oklahoma has inspired the development of a true market for cash-price health care services. “This movement is much further along and much bigger than most people will acknowledge,” says Dr. Keith Smith, an anesthesiologist and the center’s co-founder with Dr. Steve Lantier, also an anesthesiologist.
BY LOLA BUTCHER PHOTOS PROVIDED BY SURGERY CENTER OF OKLAHOMA
44 | Maverick • Fall 2021
A few physician-owned businesses and at least one huge health system—UCLA Health—have followed Surgery Center of Oklahoma’s model: publicly posted cash prices for bundled services, with payment due at time of service. Beyond that, Smith says, many other hospitals and physicians, when asked, will offer cash-price services to keep from losing patients. “A lot of people are doing this in the shadows because they know it’s inevitable,” he says. “The self-funded buyers are increasingly aware of what is possible, and they are going to make all providers do it, or they will send their employees elsewhere.”
