It's neither exaggeration nor ideology to argue that the pricing of health care services in America resembles the pricing of everything in the old Soviet Union. That's why Keith Smith's Surgery Center of Oklahoma (SCO) stuns U.S. healthcare professionals, who are unaccustomed to meaningful, transparent prices.
Keith Smith and his partners decided to be the exception. The SCO website features outlines of the human body. Click on the knee, and down falls a menu of surgical procedures. Click on “Total Knee Replacement,” and up pops a price: $15,550. Click again to schedule surgery. Once you have your new knee, you pay $15,550 — period.
