The Voice
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Again it is the insurance companies as a whole that are the problem and why costs are going up. I work in an industry where I see patient financials. If you have a procedure done that is 1000 and the Insurance is only contracted to pay 46% based on the current fee schedule then of that 1000 the hospital/physician is only allowed to receive $640. Of that 640 the insurance company will usually pay 80% Which is $512.
So from a 1000 charge that a business is trying to collect they are only able to collect 51% in a timely manner (usually take 3 weeks from the time a bill drops till the time an insurance company sends in the payment. Then and only then can they bill the secondary insurance (if there is any) or the patient. if the claim is denied then through the appeal process the hospital or physicians office can bill the patient. However for those that have insurance but their treatments are not deemed medically necessary can foot the entire bill. So when you deny a cancer patient Chemo for the reason of "Not Medically Necessary" and the patient has to pay $35,000 out of pocket when they have insurance). How is that not broken?
The problem is the insurance companies and the way they adjudicate their claims. Think about it this way. You were in a car accident. You file a claim and have about 5000 worth of repairs that need to be done. However the Insurance company says that since your car still runs they aren't covering it and you have to pay the entire 5000 out of pocket.
Who in this thread said the current system isn't broken? Please show me the quote where someone said "I'm completely satisfied with the current system".
You can't just try to fix the insurance problem. There's many other problems with our medical system. You need to address the pharmaceuticals, hospitals, and medical equipment companies. They all have issues that drive up the price of medical bills.