AmericanSphinx

Hospitals to Underinsured: Pay Upfront

I think this was a poor example to use for this article. Everyone has the ability to receive care with/without insurance, but no one said it was free. Last time I checked if I didn't pay my water bill my water will be cut off, so why is there an expectation that healthcare should be free? Also, why is there an expectation that the cost for an insurance plan member (a distributor) vs. an uninsured member (a retail customer) would be the same? The insurance company is guaranteeing a significant portion of the payment to the provider, whereas the retail customer is guaranteeing nothing in advance. Further, I would suspect I (a retail customer) pay more to buy a set of tires directly from Goodyear than it would cost America's Tires (a distributor) to buy the same set of tires from Goodyear. Should I get mad at Goodyear for not extending me the same discounts as America's Tires receives? Lastly, the person must have thought it a value to receive care from a non-network doctor considering they paid out of pocket for care they could have received at significant savings if they had used an in-network doctor, so why is anyone outraged that the patient is getting the care they want?