Majority of debtors to US hospitals now people with health insurance

Post by horns4lyfe » Fri, Jan 12, 2024, 2:38 AM UTC

throwway120385 wrote: post #26

darth_avocado wrote: post #6

I have good insurance and I have unpaid medical bills for the following reason: 1. Visited a doctor 4 months ago, got a bill 3 months after the visit, paid it, then got a surprise second bill, which I have put off paying because I need to find time during my work hours to follow up on with the hospital + insurance. 2. Didn’t get bills for some of the visits I made in the last 3 months. 3. Insurance randomly denied cl…

This was us for my wife's pregnancy and delivery. Some of the bills were denied by Cigna for things that were covered according to their book. So we had to fight that. Cigna can take months to reprocess claims, which basically puts you into default with the hospital while you wait for the insurance to pay out for services that were supposed to be covered. We've done this after every medical event because Cigna always…

Post by vkou » Fri, Jan 12, 2024, 2:57 AM UTC

devilbunny wrote: post #30

AlecSchueler wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But why is done that way? Lots of freelance chefs move between restaurants but the bill is always between the restaurant and the people who dine there.

Because historically doctors were in private practices. I still am, as an anesthesiologist. Many of the surgeons I work with are also private. So, since neither of us is employed by the hospital, we do our own billing. If we were hospital employees, we could indeed do unified billing. That's a better analogy; your chefs are expecting to be paid by the restaurant, so it collects the bill. I am not paid by the hospital…

Post by darrin » Fri, Jan 12, 2024, 3:41 AM UTC

IG_Semmelweiss wrote: post #123

ahi wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been getting those separate bills recently and it's driving me nuts. For one small out patient procedure I have received bills from the hospital, the doctor, the anesthesiologist, anesthesiologist nursing company, and a random surgeon I have never met that the doctor asked in for a 30 second consult (I know how long the procedure took) while I was under. Seriously considering ignoring some of these whotf-are-you…

there is a company where you can submit your bills if you suspect overbilling. they have professional coders on staff and they will find fraud or overbilling on your behalf and also sue the hospital too medical billing fraud is a serious offense that can get the hospital in quitw hot water and they leverage that

Post by yunwal » Fri, Jan 12, 2024, 4:11 AM UTC

paxys wrote: post #109

kuczmama wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The politicians against healthcare reform are well-known Who are they specifically?

The answer is the majority of the Republican party and their electorate, but just saying that will get you a barrage of downvotes on HN and other similar forums. We get the system we deserve..

Post by yunwal » Fri, Jan 12, 2024, 4:15 AM UTC

crazygringo wrote: post #103

amluto wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A single-payer system doesn’t seem like a magic fix to me at all. At best, a single payer could , at least in principle, wield enough market power to improve the overall system. Just look at Medicare. Medicare has enormous market power, but it uses that power in more or less absurd ways and does not optimize patient outcomes or its own expenditures particularly effectively.

It sure works in a bunch of other countries. I don't think there's anything special about the US that it wouldn't. And it enables things like optimizing for patient outcomes that can't be achieved with private insurance.