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.
From what I can gather, one of the problems with our healthcare system is the government doesn't use a master price list to give a set price for a treatment. The cost varies depending on your plan.
The most striking thing I notice is that when I look at Facebook pages of people in other countries
as compared to the U.S.-
I NEVER see GoFundMe medical posts in other countries that have universal healthcare. NEVER.
They are prevalent in the U.S. I think I see a GoFundMe request for something healthcare related
here in the U.S. every single day from someone.
Last year, I went to the dentist and I paid cash up front.
A week later, I started getting these weird bills in the mail.
I called the office, turns out their new computer system was
flagging me as having insurance. The random bills continued.
These bills were all over the place. Different amounts. It was
so strange. There was no explanation, no number to call. Just
random, expensive amounts due immediately. I had to call the
office about 5 times until they finally straightened out the coding
snag on their end.
I realized after reading thru them, that if I was covered by insurance
that I would have paid hundreds of dollars more out of pocket for
the same service. The system coded the amount due drastically
different for cash vs insurance. Something is definitely wrong
with the way we pay for medical and dental services in the U.S.
Last year, I went to the dentist and I paid cash up front.
A week later, I started getting these weird bills in the mail.
I called the office, turns out their new computer system was
flagging me as having insurance. The random bills continued.
These bills were all over the place. Different amounts. It was
so strange. There was no explanation, no number to call. Just
random, expensive amounts due immediately. I had to call the
office about 5 times until they finally straightened out the coding
snag on their end.
I realized after reading thru them, that if I was covered by insurance
that I would have paid hundreds of dollars more out of pocket for
the same service. The system coded the amount due drastically
different for cash vs insurance. Something is definitely wrong
with the way we pay for medical and dental services in the U.S.
When big entities with massive money reserves start paying for something, that something get a lot lot lot more expensive.
This is why four years college tuition costs more than a nice house. This is also why our medical systems are charging ridiculous sums of money. If it's just down to one person to pay for it, they realize that $800 for a filling is a bit excessive. But if you can bill it to insurance, then $800 becomes standard.
On the surface, the solution would seem to be ditching the insurance company, setting up a Health Savings Account, just paying out of pocket for everything and paying the doctor/dentist/etc cash. The only trouble is that this doesn't account for the average hourly worker having a massive heart attack or cancer. Still, it's probably the right idea for minor trivial medical care.
The healtcare system does suck. It is the only retail/consumer industry where the consumer doesn't know the price of service until weeks after the service has been rendered. No other area in commerce operates that way. In the normal world, you have a price list and you can shop around BEFORE accepting the service.
Ooopsy; if normality is your benchmark than the "normal" world is free to shop around while not being in the least concerned with the cost and never seeing the bill.
The single outlier to normalcy among all the first world developed countries and a host of less developed is guess who?
Last year, I went to the dentist and I paid cash up front.
A week later, I started getting these weird bills in the mail.
I called the office, turns out their new computer system was
flagging me as having insurance. The random bills continued.
These bills were all over the place. Different amounts. It was
so strange. There was no explanation, no number to call. Just
random, expensive amounts due immediately. I had to call the
office about 5 times until they finally straightened out the coding
snag on their end.
I realized after reading thru them, that if I was covered by insurance
that I would have paid hundreds of dollars more out of pocket for
the same service. The system coded the amount due drastically
different for cash vs insurance. Something is definitely wrong
with the way we pay for medical and dental services in the U.S.
Or maybe because the doctors can bill you for more script visits and they have friends in Washington.
With the advent of the opioid epidemic all controlled substances require a visit to the doctors office not necessarily an appointment, controlled substances cannot be called in to the pharmacy. I take Xanax occasionally for anxiety and I have to go to the office to pick up the script.
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.
