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Actually I have, when my insurance company retroactively canceled my coverage (rather than pay for my surgeries) years ago. I spoke to the hospitals/doctors, told them what happened and asked if they'd consider a reduced rate. They did, and I paid them off.
Thankfully with the new laws that Obama has passed, the insurance companies will no longer be able to weasel out of paying up when it's time to do so.
Actually there are three patterns emerging.Pattern One that insurance is raising rates and offering less coverage, like I said if this had happened to me last year I would have has full coverage after deductible but insurance changed this year and I am one of those with a history of skin cancer so my group coverage is all I can really get.
Pattern Two, is medical rates are rising always it seems.
Pattern three, a lot of people's living costs are rising and wages going down. To simply tell all the bank clerks, ambulance drivers, salespeople and so on out there to "get a better job so you can pay for medical" is not a realistic situation.
But the questions I asked up top, would like to hear opinions. Here you have a forum member with real time bills that just came in to see for yourself what charges are. This was for a appendix, just imagine a more serious condition.......
I pay around $900 a month for me and the family, for insurance.
If I just pay the doctors and hospital the $900 a month, I pay it off as a car loan(I didn't have to pay interest last time on what the deductible didn't pay)
You pay 4 or 5 years (but wait it is much cheaper in actual cost if they don't have to deal with insurance) So you pay it off in 3 years and no more Insurance payments.
Got my hospital bills today, $30,000 for appendix removal, insurance settled at 10,000
Knowing this, I think I'll put up any future procedures I need on eBay and let doctors bid on treating me. Seriously, this makes about as much sense as ***** on a boar
Got my hospital bills today, $30,000 for appendix removal, insurance settled at 10,000
Knowing this, I think I'll put up any future procedures I need on eBay and let doctors bid on treating me. Seriously, this makes about as much sense as ***** on a boar
Would a hospital be willing to negotiate if it was "customer pay"?
I don't see why they would. Hospitals have attorneys, insurance companies also have attorneys. Part of why hospitals negotiate with insurance companies is they weigh the cost of a lawsuit to collect against how much they can get the insurance company to cough up. People on the other hand generally don't have attorneys and as a result it can be much easier to get a collection judgement against a person then it is to negotiate with them.
Last edited by Randomstudent; 11-17-2010 at 09:56 PM..
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