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Insured price $2,758, cash price $521

latimes.com

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Re: Insured price $2,758, cash price $521

#271

Post by [deleted] »

refurb wrote: post #110
rlpb wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have read elsewhere, but cannot find a reference right now, that insurers typically pay only a percentage of any bill and expect the provider to accept it in final settlement. The percentage gets negotiated around. If this is true, then it makes sense that the providers inflate their original bills so that when they get the proportional settlement, the amount they receive is reasonable. The claim was that individua…

There a few different drivers of the ridiculous list prices at hospitals. 1. The gov't forces them to disclose a price and they can't charge higher than it. Thus, they have every incentive to make it really high, then give preferred customers (insurers) a discount. 2. The system is firmly locked into a cycle of "percent of charges". Basically the insurer says "I know your chargermaster prices are inflated, so let's a…

[deleted]

Re: Insured price $2,758, cash price $521

#272

Post by dllthomas »

cylinder wrote: post #270
dragonwriter wrote: post #268

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I took my 4 year old to the ER because he had a 103 fever. Alone, a fever under 104°F that isn't for an extended duration isn't something you should take an otherwise healthy four-year-old to the ER for. If you go to an ER for a non-emergency, you are definitely going to overpay for what you get, by an even wider margin than you usually overpay because of the need for those customers that pay to subsidize the costs…

Your answer is insane and shocking.

It seems to square with the recommendations from the Mayo Clinic: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/fever/symptom...

Re: Insured price $2,758, cash price $521

#273

Post by srj »

newshorts wrote: post #240
johnwheeler wrote: post #25

I took my 4 year old to the ER because he had a 103 fever. The doctor put an ear thermometer to him and told me to give him some childrens ibuprofen. The visit lasted all of 5 minutes. The cost: $756.00. I refused to pay it. It was the first time I did not pay a debt and the first time I was sent to collections. I refused based on principle, and not because I couldn’t afford it. Collections called me for about 3 mont…

I had an unpaid ambulance ride of 5 minutes. Moved and never received the bill. Never heard about it until the collections agency called. I paid it and they still dinged my credit. Just a lesson for anyone thinking this is a good idea, most likely you will get your credit slapped for this sort of thing.

Once it's at a collections stage don't pay it. The status change of paying it causes the time until it expires off your report to reset.

You instead send them a letter that asks for proof you owe the debt, and ask them to only contact you in writing. Often they won't have their paperwork in order and it will be removed.

Re: Insured price $2,758, cash price $521

#274

Post by Aeolun »

lawnchair_larry wrote: post #179
JudgeWapner wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> your neighborhood doctor is likely a scam artist. I don't blame a Dr for trying to charge 7x the actual value of their time if 6/7 people don't pay them at all (the case in ERs). They're employing the same practice as insurance companies. But when a Dr does it he's a scam artist?

Yes. If the price was 1/7th, people would pay. $70 for ibuprofen is still a huge ripoff, but they would pay it. No one will pay $700.

I don’t think this is true. 4/7 people wouldn’t pay regardless. 2/7 might, and that last one was paying anyway because insurance covered everything.

Re: Insured price $2,758, cash price $521

#275

Post by onlyrealcuzzo »

johnwheeler wrote: post #25

I took my 4 year old to the ER because he had a 103 fever. The doctor put an ear thermometer to him and told me to give him some childrens ibuprofen. The visit lasted all of 5 minutes. The cost: $756.00. I refused to pay it. It was the first time I did not pay a debt and the first time I was sent to collections. I refused based on principle, and not because I couldn’t afford it. Collections called me for about 3 mont…

I once went to an emergency room near Philadelphia -- Bryn Mawr -- and I was there for tops 2 hours. They didn't do anything fancy, beside an EKG (if you can even call that fancy).

They sent me a bill for $15k.

Luckily insurance covered 80% of it... But still! It basically maxed out my out-of-pocket for the year. And for what? An EKG -- at the time -- cost, on average, less than $100...

I remember calling the billing office to try to figure it out. They sent me the bill for $15k directly, so I thought that's what I owed AFTER insurance. Needless to say, I was panicked. I remember telling them, I'd sooner leave the country and move to Europe than pay them $15k, if that's what it came down to. I remember the billing office basically threatening my life. And then when they found out I had insurance (not sure why they didn't know that I did already), they suddenly got much more friendly.

Re: Insured price $2,758, cash price $521

#276

Post by stordoff »

jachee wrote: post #243
cwkoss wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All pharmaceuticals should be tested against the control of handing the patient the cost of the medication in cash. I bet hundreds of dollars a month would provide depression and anxiety relief for a significant portion of the population.

You clearly don't know anyone suffering from depression and/or anxiety. If you think money relieves anything—regardless of the amount—you're quite mistaken. Robin Williams was a literal multi-millionaire, and if money relieved anything, he'd still be here.

No, but money worries can exacerbate anxiety. If the drug is marginally effective, the money may provide more (but _far_ from complete) relief.

Context: I have a long-term anxiety condition (GAD+OCD).

Re: Insured price $2,758, cash price $521

#277

Post by mxcrossb »

nonbel wrote: post #38

It has been good practice for awhile now to claim you have no insurance even if you do: https://selfpaypatient.com/2015/05/12/insured-but-not-lettin... Once you know the cash price then you could later say you got insurance but not vice versa.

It seems like someone could start an insurance company, where all customers had to claim they had no insurance, but then sent the bill to be reimbursed.

Re: Insured price $2,758, cash price $521

#278

Post by BurningFrog »

johnwheeler wrote: post #25

I took my 4 year old to the ER because he had a 103 fever. The doctor put an ear thermometer to him and told me to give him some childrens ibuprofen. The visit lasted all of 5 minutes. The cost: $756.00. I refused to pay it. It was the first time I did not pay a debt and the first time I was sent to collections. I refused based on principle, and not because I couldn’t afford it. Collections called me for about 3 mont…

> People blame it on the insurance companies and the hospitals, but my theory is it’s the providers.

Perhaps a nit pick, but: Sure it's the providers, but it's a dozen other things too. A problem this enormous doesn't have just one villain!

Re: Insured price $2,758, cash price $521

#280

Post by whiddershins »

johnwheeler wrote: post #25

I took my 4 year old to the ER because he had a 103 fever. The doctor put an ear thermometer to him and told me to give him some childrens ibuprofen. The visit lasted all of 5 minutes. The cost: $756.00. I refused to pay it. It was the first time I did not pay a debt and the first time I was sent to collections. I refused based on principle, and not because I couldn’t afford it. Collections called me for about 3 mont…

So are you saying, just to clarify, that a doctor making $350,000 a year ... is a problem?
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