02-13-2009, 10:55 AM
Aline, your post was not a rant, but a pretty accurate description of some of the reasons our health care system is broken. Paperwork, insurance-related mostly, constitutes over 30% of our health care budget. That is why many health care reform proponents push for a "single payer" system which would simplify the multiple layers of billing paperwork. Everyone assumes that the single payer would be the government, but that is not necessarily the only way.
The inflation of fee per service charges is a key part of the price manipulation game that the health care providers and insurers play. Of course, nobody pays the full price except the poor soul who is paying on his own and doens't know he can haggle just like the insurance companies. I had an underinsured friend whose inadequate policy wouldn't pay for a major procedure he needed and only partially paid for others. When he got the bill, he went to meet with the billing department of the hospital and told them he couldn't afford to pay it and would probably just declare bankruptcy. Faced with getting nothing, they quickly asked, "Well how much CAN you pay?" He left with drastic discounts on all the uninsured charges.
Cheers,
Jerry
The inflation of fee per service charges is a key part of the price manipulation game that the health care providers and insurers play. Of course, nobody pays the full price except the poor soul who is paying on his own and doens't know he can haggle just like the insurance companies. I had an underinsured friend whose inadequate policy wouldn't pay for a major procedure he needed and only partially paid for others. When he got the bill, he went to meet with the billing department of the hospital and told them he couldn't afford to pay it and would probably just declare bankruptcy. Faced with getting nothing, they quickly asked, "Well how much CAN you pay?" He left with drastic discounts on all the uninsured charges.
Cheers,
Jerry