crotchitymedic1986 Posted November 9, 2010 Posted November 9, 2010 You guys miss the point entirely. The reason that you are charged the $4200 for lab tests that costs 100s to perform, or $1200 for the scan/xray that really costs 100, is that medical providers (including ambulance services) write off the first 55% of every dollar billed. Therefore, they have learned to bill at 2-4 times the rate of the actual cost of the procedure, so that after write-off, they will have a profit. The problem is that if you charge anyone less than what you have charged Medicare, it is fraud. Therefore, they can not charge an individual the "cost" price, they have to charge you the same they charge Medicare (they can provide a discount for cash payment, but it is usually less than 20% of the total). Like it or not, if you have insurance, you are paying for those who do not have insurance through higher premiums per paycheck, and actual outofpocket costs when the bills come due. Remember in the US, hospitals can not refuse to treat you because of lack of insurance. We can argue about whether or not Obamacare is the answer, but it would make sense that if everyone were insured (however that happens), your cost would go down.
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