Insurance and Out of Network Care

[kingarthur65]

@Nemesis

And on that point we can both agree. ACA had a lot of good parts to it but it no way did it address the underlying causes of increasing health insurance costs, it was at its core health insurance reform not health care reform. There was nothing in the ACA that prompted health care providers to address their increasing costs. Same with lawyers, medical malpractice suits are out of control and the damages that are awarded are crazy.

This is a myth. Most states have instituted caps on medical malpractice awards. Medical malpractice suits are expensive and time consuming to litigate. Many of the medical malpractice lawyers were regulated out of the industry during GWB, when most states instituted caps on non economic damages.

[Nemesis]

@kingarthur65

@Nemesis

And on that point we can both agree. ACA had a lot of good parts to it but it no way did it address the underlying causes of increasing health insurance costs, it was at its core health insurance reform not health care reform. There was nothing in the ACA that prompted health care providers to address their increasing costs. Same with lawyers, medical malpractice suits are out of control and the damages that are awarded are crazy.

This is a myth. Most states have instituted caps on medical malpractice awards. Medical malpractice suits are expensive and time consuming to litigate. Many of the medical malpractice lawyers were regulated out of the industry during GWB, when most states instituted caps on non economic damages.

Your post resulted me in doing some additional information and it does seem you are right. I am not sure I would call it a myth as it was a problem for decades and in some states the costs are still prohibitive for doctors but overall it was surprising to update myself. Thanks for that.

With that said there is no doubt that the cost of health care at the point of service for patients in the US is still prohibitive.

[Nemesis]

@5th_WiL

Making sure your provider is in network is only one part of value shopping.

Most folks have no idea what provider A charges vs what provider B charges.

Transparency of costs is a huge focus for health insurance companies. I have a lot of experience with one company that assists in that and technology is now in a place where people can actually see what their true cost of a medical service will be.

I have told this story before but using cost transparency tools allowed me to save $1,000 on an MRI. My doctor referred to me to a provider that would cost me $1400, the tools provided through my insurance enabled me to find an alternative provider that provided the same quality of MRI (actually they used more modern imaging equipment) but would only cost me $400.

These types of tools and innovations will do more to reduce the cost of healthcare than any government intervention.

[Nemesis]

I do want to add thanks to @kingarthur65 for prompting me to do additional research. I appreciate the post.

See folks it is possible to listen to other posters and admit that what you thought you knew was either wrong or had become outdated instead of doubling down and ignoring the new evidence.

[lulubee]

I had to put this here because it’s on sort of on topic.

Cat Bites The Hand That Feeds; Hospital Bills $48,512

$48K was billed by the hospital.

[Nemesis]

@lulubee

I had to put this here because it’s on sort of on topic.

Bill Of The Month: Rabies Treatment After Cat Bite : Shots - Health News : NPR

$48K was billed by the hospital.

It is outrageous. Why is it that Emergency Rooms are not required to provide the billed charge amounts of their most common procedures when someone walks?

I cannot think of another business where I have services and have no idea of the cost until after they submit their bill.