AmericanSphinx

3 Comments

    • ON: Wed Apr 30th 12:16 PM
      Commented on:
      Hospitals to Underinsured: Pay Upfront
      WSW - True in group insurance there isn't individual medical underwriting, but in a lot of states (like here in NC) there are individual guarantee issues policies, or a state high risk pool through which to purchase insurance if you are high-risk. As to your rebuttal about payment. When I go to my auto mechanic for a tune up, I approve a certain amount up-front for a specific set of service. If it ends up costing less then I pay that amount. If they need to do something else then I pay the increased amount. Additionally, a lot of doctors and hospitals will provide a global bill, which reflects the total cost for treatment of "X," so there isn't a need for a line item bill.
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    • ON: Tue Apr 29th 11:31 AM
      Commented on:
      Hospitals to Underinsured: Pay Upfront
      Forgot to add there is a difference in the elective surgeries referenced at the end of the article. A non-covered elective surgery in the U.S. would be for things like breast augmentation, rhinoplasty, etc. Whereas an elective surgery in the Canadian system would be for something like knee replacement surgery for a 50-yr. old, which would not be denied (or delayed) in the U.S. system. It's that sort of yellow journalism, or ignorance, that muddies the healthcare discussion. Nice going...
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    • ON: Tue Apr 29th 11:23 AM
      Commented on:
      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?
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