Surgery - Radiation cost and effectiveness comparison

I had 25 fractions of IMRT and two HDR procedures. The entire cost paid by my insurance for the radiation treatments including my rad-onc, urologist, hospital, ambulance service, was just under $30,000. Of course what the hospital billed was about four times what the insurance agreement paid. My rad-onc billed exactly what the insurance payment agreement spelled out. Often when I see these cost comparissons I am sure that they are using the billing amount, not the amount the hospital has already agreed to be paid, thus exagerating the "cost" of treatment.

Same when my wife had breast cancer the second time. Among the bills was the surgical reconstruction cost. The surgeon billed $25,000 per breast and the insurance company paid less than $20,000 total to the surgeon. This included the initial reconstruction surgey, all followup and the second surgery to finish the restoration.