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Majority of debtors to US hospitals now people with health insurance

theguardian.com

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Re: Majority of debtors to US hospitals now people with health insurance

#41

Post by mtlynch »

tptacek wrote: post #13

This is the only debt I have, because hospital payment systems are fucking impossible to navigate. Thankfully, the Biden administration is drafting plans to make it unlawful to report that debt to credit reporting agencies, so I anticipate soon giving even less of a shit about it than I do now. Figure it out with my insurer, or bill me at the time of service. I'm sure as shit not responding to an invoice.

I'd love to adopt this strategy as well, but I worry about the clinic eventually forcing me to pay somehow and adding a bunch of penalties on top. Is there a way to mitigate that risk? Or is that risk unlikely in a way I'm not considering?

Re: Majority of debtors to US hospitals now people with health insurance

#42

Post by [deleted] »

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…

[deleted]

Re: Majority of debtors to US hospitals now people with health insurance

#43

Post by plants »

plagiarist wrote: post #17
retrac wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would point out that the attending surgeon, the anaesthesiologist, and the hospital all bill the patient separately here for a surgery, in Ontario, Canada. (Most people will never see these bills and it's covered by the public insurance.) The reason is that the service - the contract - is organized in that way. Between the patient and the anaesthesiologist, between the patient and the surgeon, and between the patie…

Not seeing these bills would be incredible. Having them all covered in the same way would be fantastic. Instead, for us, states need to enact surprise billing laws since each provider can mysteriously be out-of-network despite working within a hospital that is in-network. The in-network concept is complete bullshit to start with, but then you have to have complete documentation of every person involved in whatever ca…

This is what infuriates me the most about healthcare in the US. I give someone my card, they enter the numbers with no indication of whether or not everything will be covered by insurance (they assume you just know).

Then, a month later, I receive a bill indicating a routine procedure that I assumed out of ignorance was covered by insurance (since they took my card and entered the numbers without saying anything to the contrary) for $500 (or, god forbid, more).

If I knew a salad at a restaurant were $200, I probably wouldn’t order it. There is no basic transparency in medical billing, and that needs to change.

Re: Majority of debtors to US hospitals now people with health insurance

#44

Post by tenebrisalietum »

beaeglebeached wrote: post #29
plagiarist wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Alternatively, they could consider not having lone employees mass-denying procedures from a spreadsheet. Or at least stop using the AI that gets it wrong so often it's indistinguishable from intentional.

I think biggest problem is health insurance is now more like a weird HSA where insurer owns the money and operates as cartel. It might be cheaper for some to not even have it and just go to Mexico, maybe some minimal insurance only for emergency room. Hard to call it insurance, when so much used for known chronic ongoing costs.

A friend of mine had gastric bypass revision surgery in Mexico because it was cheaper.

Re: Majority of debtors to US hospitals now people with health insurance

#45

Post by wing-_-nuts »

taeric wrote: post #7

That has included me, in the past. It is stupid easy to accidentally have a debt to a hospital. For families, sensible privacy rules at clinics can mean that it is very hard to choke point bills to a single person. To the point that I asked every time if I owed money when I did checkups to be told that we did not. Only to later find that my family did, in fact, have a bill due. For a while. Recently I'm getting it wi…

One thing my mom has been dealing with recently is where the insurance EOB and the bill differs substantially. My mom called the hospital to ask for an explanation and poof the bill is magically lowered by a several hundred dollars.

How the heck is this not criminal fraud? Why are people allowed to simply bill whatever they feel like it, and why is my mother getting 'balance billed' for random amounts? They're still doing all this dirty underhanded stuff and when they get called out on it, it's 'Oopsie! Our mistake' when they know most people they do this to will naively pay it

Re: Majority of debtors to US hospitals now people with health insurance

#47

Post by GrinningFool »

At any given time I have a few hundred dollars of unpaid medical bills because they are so inconsistent. Some don't show up for months. Some show up right away. Some are tracked in the providers' proprietary apps. Some are sent by mail.

Some, I don't learn about until they're in collections. Did I miss an email/notification/mail? No idea and no way to tell.

Incredibly frustrating situation.

Re: Majority of debtors to US hospitals now people with health insurance

#48

Post by wing-_-nuts »

beaeglebeached wrote: post #24
plagiarist wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd like to see insurers be sued for malpractice since they feel entitled to make medical decisions for people.

That will raise the price of insurance even more. Now you have to cover the cost of risk of suing your own insurance pool.

As opposed to a single 'doctor' mass denying 1000's of requests a day? That should be illegal.

Re: Majority of debtors to US hospitals now people with health insurance

#49

Post by [deleted] »

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…

[deleted]

Re: Majority of debtors to US hospitals now people with health insurance

#50

Post by robterrell »

Supermancho wrote: post #32
tiahura wrote: post #5

It’s called a deductible. People don’t pay their bills anymore, unless they absolutely have to.

Generally this is true. For anything over a thousand, I try to negotiate. Most of the time they rather compromise than fight/sell it at a % to collections.

How exactly do you negotiate? After you get a bill, you call their billing number and just ask for a lower number?
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