Congress is set to ban most surprise medical bills • Hacker News Board

Re: Congress is set to ban most surprise medical bills

#11

Post by lordnacho » Mon, Dec 21, 2020, 4:01 PM UTC

> Surprise bills happen when an out-of-network provider is unexpectedly involved in a patient’s care. Patients go to a hospital that accepts their insurance, for example, but get treated there by an emergency room physician who doesn’t. Such doctors often bill those patients for large fees, far higher than what health plans typically pay.

How do courts uphold this? You go to a restaurant, they say you can buy the tasting menu for $100, but they have a temp chef working that day which will cost you $50 extra, which you find out as you're paying.

I mean you might even be unconscious when this is happening?

EDIT

Actually someone brought up an important point. If you go to a restaurant, you are kinda expected to know that there's taxes and tipping to pay. Do the US courts think the same of healthcare? "You were in a hospital, you should have known that the bill is always higher than the sticker price?"

It would surprise me as a European.

Re: Congress is set to ban most surprise medical bills

#12

Post by GOONIMMUNE » Mon, Dec 21, 2020, 4:04 PM UTC

standardUser wrote: post #3

The change does not apply to ambulances (except for air ambulances), ensuring the United States remains one of the few places in the world where a seriously ill person needs to debate if they're willing to risk their health and life to avoid a financially crippling trip to the hospital.

After my 2nd motorcycle accident, I refused the ambulance to the hospital to be checked out, because I was more afraid of 4 figure ambulance bills than I was of long term effects to my health

Re: Congress is set to ban most surprise medical bills

#13

Post by jsperson » Mon, Dec 21, 2020, 4:04 PM UTC

That it takes such effort to pass a bill like this - 80% public approval, banning a clearly predatory practice, has turned me from a pure free market thinking into a believer in single payer healthcare. The free market just doesn't work when there is very little elasticity in consumption. I've been on the receiving end of a $15K air ambulance bill (thankfully covered by insurance) as well as the out of network specialist at an in-network hospital. The latter is particularly galling. What are you supposed to do, interrogate every person that comes in the room?

Re: Congress is set to ban most surprise medical bills

#14

Post by tyoma » Mon, Dec 21, 2020, 4:07 PM UTC

standardUser wrote: post #3

The change does not apply to ambulances (except for air ambulances), ensuring the United States remains one of the few places in the world where a seriously ill person needs to debate if they're willing to risk their health and life to avoid a financially crippling trip to the hospital.

This can be regulated at the state and local level; current state solutions had no ability to regulate air transit fees.

However even local government is getting in on this revenue stream. The last ambulance bill I saw (for a relative) was from the city’s fire department, which is already funded by (fairly high) property taxes.

Re: Congress is set to ban most surprise medical bills

#15

Post by etskinner » Mon, Dec 21, 2020, 4:08 PM UTC

https://archive.is/50VQv

Re: Congress is set to ban most surprise medical bills

#16

Post by lwigo » Mon, Dec 21, 2020, 4:10 PM UTC

This isn't directly related, but some of the credit reporting agencies can have surprise medical bills written off due to covid related hardships. This is to say, if a surprise bill happens to hit collections, and you're affected by covid, it can be removed through the report process. I have no idea what this looks like in the long term, though.

Re: Congress is set to ban most surprise medical bills

#17

Post by silentsea90 » Mon, Dec 21, 2020, 4:11 PM UTC

HenryKissinger wrote: post #7

standardUser wrote: post #3

The change does not apply to ambulances (except for air ambulances), ensuring the United States remains one of the few places in the world where a seriously ill person needs to debate if they're willing to risk their health and life to avoid a financially crippling trip to the hospital.

"‘As I was being eaten, I was thinking about my insurance’: Woman who lost face in bear attack on why she’s voting for Bernie Sanders" https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-electio...

Peak dystopia

Re: Congress is set to ban most surprise medical bills

#18

Post by mehrdadn » Mon, Dec 21, 2020, 4:12 PM UTC

jsperson wrote: post #13

That it takes such effort to pass a bill like this - 80% public approval, banning a clearly predatory practice, has turned me from a pure free market thinking into a believer in single payer healthcare. The free market just doesn't work when there is very little elasticity in consumption. I've been on the receiving end of a $15K air ambulance bill (thankfully covered by insurance) as well as the out of network specia…

> What are you supposed to do, interrogate every person that comes in the room?

I'm curious too. Some people must have tried filing a lawsuit... what do judges think people should be doing?

Re: Congress is set to ban most surprise medical bills

#19

Post by cdjk » Mon, Dec 21, 2020, 4:13 PM UTC

jsperson wrote: post #13

That it takes such effort to pass a bill like this - 80% public approval, banning a clearly predatory practice, has turned me from a pure free market thinking into a believer in single payer healthcare. The free market just doesn't work when there is very little elasticity in consumption. I've been on the receiving end of a $15K air ambulance bill (thankfully covered by insurance) as well as the out of network specia…

The existing health insurance industry is far from free market. Try getting a price for a procedure or visit beforehand.

Compare that to dental insurance. I’m always shocked when I get a treatment plant after 5 minutes that outlines exactly what the dentist needs to do, how much insurance will pay, and how much I will need to pay. Of course the set of possible treatments for dental work is a lot smaller, but it seems so much more straightforward.

Re: Congress is set to ban most surprise medical bills

#20

Post by the_only_law » Mon, Dec 21, 2020, 4:13 PM UTC

GOONIMMUNE wrote: post #12

standardUser wrote: post #3

The change does not apply to ambulances (except for air ambulances), ensuring the United States remains one of the few places in the world where a seriously ill person needs to debate if they're willing to risk their health and life to avoid a financially crippling trip to the hospital.

After my 2nd motorcycle accident, I refused the ambulance to the hospital to be checked out, because I was more afraid of 4 figure ambulance bills than I was of long term effects to my health

Last time I had to go to the emergency room, I was luckily enough to be in a state where I could just call an Uber.