Quote:
Originally posted by taxwonk
I wasn't kidding, so much a vastly oversimplifying. Medicare regulations are extensive, but they serve a relatively small segment of the population. For everyone else, there are no real price controls.
Insurance companies may base their rates off of Medicare, but providers are free to charge more, and individual consumers of healthcare have little bargaining power to change that.
Case in point, I just recently got a bill for $5000 from the ER physician relating to a June trip to the hospital. The basis for the bill was that the doc wasn't part of my insurance company's network, therefore, I was responsible for out-of-network charges.
Recourse for me? None. The insurance company denied my request for a review. The doc was unsympathetic to my arguments that I was unable to choose a network doc for ER care. In fact, his office manager told me that almost no ER docs in my part of the country belong to any insurance networks because they can charge more by not joining.
That's what I meant by no real regulation for the average person.
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You are on crack, nttawwt. All you are saying is no
price regulation. How many industries have price regulation?
Good god, man. Was it a head injury? Was it really an emergency? Employer health insurance seems like it customarily doesn't place the same restrictions on actual emergency stuff b/c they know you have less of a choice (e.g., I am not sure you have to go to in-network hospitals etc.) -- but I'm not in IL and I don't know what kind of plan you have and I'm not sure you have a group policy.
Anyway. No price regulation does not equal no regulation.
