ML wrote:
….
A couple years ago a friend was in the hospital curiosity prompted my DH to go the accounting office to ask how much a particular outpatient procedure would cost? They asked if he had insurance? He asked for both prices $800 for cash and $2000 for insurance. If we got rid of the middleman healthcare costs might go down? I have met a couple of people on the road that have paid their own medical bills by making arrangements directly with the hospital or doctor's office instead of an insurance company. …
Please note that while they may bill the insurance company $2000 for your example above, they probably settle with them at $1000 or less. The rest is written off as a lost so that they always remain non-profit. The difference between what you might pay with cash versus what the insurance company pays also goes to covering those people with no insurance who get treated at the hospital. We still have millions of people who are the working poor - they make to much for Medicaid and make to little for ACA and their states didn't go with the expanded Medicaid.
Barb
