Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It is amazing how many people have no idea how insurance actually works.
What is mandated in most state is only liability insurance and usually only $15,000/$30,000 minimum limits. Why do people typically buy $100,000/$300,000 when it is not mandated? Even in no fault states, the coverage required is minimal. Not enough to any any substantial medical bill.
Yes,you would have made the same recovery insurance or no. The ambulance still woudl have picked yu up and the doctors woudl have treated you exactly the same. They do not check to see whether the driver who hit you had insurance before treating you. Pick the mike back up please (polluting is bad) and then go get some books on how insurance works and read them.
I hear ya! But, what afriqueNY and others aren't getting is that auto insurance isn't getting hit with the unpaid costs of medical expenses. As you've pointed out, a patient can easily outspend the limits of their policy, then what? Most people of means insure their risk with costlier policies than the minimum because they're protecting their assets. Those who don't transfer their liabilities from an auto accident into the health care realm.
It's a good thing you could afford to do that. Millions can't.
It's never been my experience and I've been helping to deal with my mother and her cancer treatments. Yes, you are told how much you owe today to get service. I wasn't discussing that.
Prices for a day in a hospital should still be listed just the same as a day in a hotel. Easily looked up on the internet. I realize that if I order room service my hotel bill will be more than originally quoted.
My day and your day in a hospital are likely not going to cost the same because the medical condition is likely not the same. If I am recovering from a quad by- pass and you are recovering from say a tonsillectomy, chances are we will each require a different level of care. I might breeze through the procedure while you experience complications requiring intensive care. I may be out the door in 2 days while you need 2 weeks.
Our ages, health condition, other medical issues, allergies and reactions are not the same. There is always risk of infection and individual ability to respond to infection matters.
Then there's insurance. Not all PPOs are equal. Not all co- pays are equal. Not all deductibles are equal. Not all out of pocket caps are equal. It all matters.
It requires the hospital and insurer to coordinate benefits. No hospital/ insurer is going to expend the time and effort until an MD with surgical and admitting privledges and the patient agree to a plan of action and the surgeon's office makes an appointment.
No kidding and imagine trying to get "pre-pricing" while you are being prepped for heart surgery. What do you do if you don't like the price, get up and leave? Opt out of surgery? It's the stupidest thing in the world. I can negotiate my purchase of a car and decide that I can't afford 4 wheel drive, but it's real tough to decide which of the three stents I will forego because I can't pay for all three
Totally agree... and also, as much as I would love a price-transparency model in health insurance, it's not going to come from this plan. Nothing about this plan specifically addresses that so I don't know how he can make that connection. We can "shop" for plans based on premium, like we do now, but how are we going to shop based on costs... for diseases that haven't yet happened and treatments that we don't even know we'll need yet.
No kidding and imagine trying to get "pre-pricing" while you are being prepped for heart surgery. What do you do if you don't like the price, get up and leave? Opt out of surgery? It's the stupidest thing in the world. I can negotiate my purchase of a car and decide that I can't afford 4 wheel drive, but it's real tough to decide which of the three stents I will forego because I can't pay for all three
Just because it's not feasible in every single instance does NOT mean it shouldn't be readily available. It would also give you something to rely upon after the fact.
Most people if they buy a television for $800 but go home and find out that the store has it advertised for $720 are going to go back and demand their $80.
My day and your day in a hospital are likely not going to cost the same because the medical condition is likely not the same. If I am recovering from a quad by- pass and you are recovering from say a tonsillectomy, chances are we will each require a different level of care. I might breeze through the procedure while you experience complications requiring intensive care. I may be out the door in 2 days while you need 2 weeks.
Our ages, health condition, other medical issues, allergies and reactions are not the same. There is always risk of infection and individual ability to respond to infection matters.
Then there's insurance. Not all PPOs are equal. Not all co- pays are equal. Not all deductibles are equal. Not all out of pocket caps are equal. It all matters.
We should have UHC and all things are equal.
Quote:
It requires the hospital and insurer to coordinate benefits. No hospital/ insurer is going to expend the time and effort until an MD with surgical and admitting privledges and the patient agree to a plan of action and the surgeon's office makes an appointment.
Layers of useless paperwork that only adds to the costs.
The insurance carriers are LOVING this mess because in it all they are making BILLIONS more!!
How are they making billions more? At the moment, they are in danger of losing the healthy young adults they need to cover the sick. Their whole business model is at risk.
Just because it's not feasible in every single instance does NOT mean it shouldn't be readily available. It would also give you something to rely upon after the fact.
Most people if they buy a television for $800 but go home and find out that the store has it advertised for $720 are going to go back and demand their $80.
I always stick it to the provider's office to provide this best guess estimate of what something will cost. The insurance company can't give you a clear menu of costs outside of your copays because different providers charge different amounts (outside of the procedures covered by a flat copay). For something with a coinsurance, they can tell you you'll pay 20% of the cost but it would be extremely difficult to just say a flat "$50" because that puts them on the hook for keeping track of what every provider charges for every service and somehow knowing which provider you'll use.
Actually there is a great tech company now that is doing just this, but it's only for employer plans I think. Despite being able to be that bridge between insurance rates and provider rates, the numbers aren't always accurate.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
But, what afriqueNY and others aren't getting is that auto insurance isn't getting hit with the unpaid costs of medical expenses. As you've pointed out, a patient can easily outspend the limits of their policy, then what? Most people of means insure their risk with costlier policies than the minimum because they're protecting their assets. Those who don't transfer their liabilities from an auto accident into the health care realm.
