Tip of the day: Sure ways to save on your health care
While nobody wants to cut back on medical care, the sorry state of the economy has forced many to do just that. Americans are skipping doctor amd dental appointments and leaving prescriptions unfilled—all in an effort to save money.
Take a look at our Health-Care Savings Series for a wide range of tips on how to save on your prescriptions, take advantage of free health screenings, make the most of tax-free accounts, and more. And for more savings, see our free Best Buy Drugs reports on low-cost generics for 21 conditions including diabetes, chronic pain, and depression.
Posted by: Bryan Snider | May 20, 2009 7:18:00 PM
Insurance does not belong in Health care.
Insurance is the biggest cost in maintaining good health. Insurance contributes nothing for health and is the largest expense to both the doctors and the patience. Yet, insurance is involved in making medical procedures and decisions. This illegal and expensive practice of allowing Insurance companies to practice medicine must be stopped NOW. Insurance causes illegal book keeping too.
Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for a premium, and can be thought of as a guaranteed small loss to prevent a large, possibly devastating loss.
Healthcare refers to the treatment and management of illness, and the preservation of health through services offered by the medical, dental, pharmaceutical, clinical laboratory sciences (in vitro diagnostics), nursing, and allied health professions.
Please separate healthcare from Insurance and let each expert remain experts in the area they are defined to cover.
Insurance is to cover unplanned expenses. Maintaining good health is a planned expense. People do not need expensive insurance that limits and in some cases prevents you from receiving the best health care possible.
Seperate Insurance from health care. They have nothing in common.
I would get the best treatment from my Doctor if I could pay him a portion of my premiums directly.
Posted by: TSW | Apr 17, 2009 5:59:06 PM
One of the biggest issues I have with our existing health care system is the billing practices of the industry.
If you have good insurance, the prices charged by providers are discounted heavily and you only have to pay your share based on the discounted amount - this is known in the industry as particpating (the provider accepts what your insurer says is reasonable and customary, or a pre-negotiated discount rate).
If you have poor or no insurance, you are charged the full undiscounted amount and must pay the difference between the undiscounted amount charged and what your insurer says is their share based on what your insurer says is reasonable and customary (and there is no definition or standardization of what reasonable and customary means).
The use of the terms "network" and "non-network" are used to indicate who participates and who does not participate.
We must also be extremely diligent to make sure all of our providers participate (including the lab your doctor chooses for lab tests - the lab chosen may not participate with your insurance carrier and technically you will be liable for the amount they charge). Most doctors require you to waive your rights on this issue, but I make it a point to identify on the waiver form that only those that participate with my insurance company may be chosen or may deliver medical services.
As a result those with poor or no insurance end up paying the most expensive rates for medical service.
This is usually explained away as having to do with volume discounts, but I contend that medical service is not delivered in volume, it is delivered individually on a person to person basis. Nobody walks into a hospital and says "I need you to perform 25 colonoscopies to these 25 people" or "Here are 15 patients that need heart bypass surgery" as in assembly line processes. Even billing is done individually because each patient receives somewhat different treatments and/or procedures these medical services.
The accounting standards people (FASB and GASB) and IRS recognize these billing practices as wrong. Medical practitioners may not book revenue based on their undiscounted price list. They may only book revenue on the amount they expect to collect based on whatever insurance aggreements are in place. This is to prevent them from inflating their booked revenue dollar on annual reports and on tax returns. In other words, medical practioners are told and know their full undiscounted fee schedule is truly fiction and not a realistic fee schedule.
Posted by: Ilene | Apr 8, 2009 8:59:05 AM
I have a close friend with no insurance and low income who needs angiogram and possibly another stint or open heart surgery. She has ENORMOUS hospital bills for emergency visits and admissions over the past few months, but she can't find anyone to do the angiogram without a way to pay for it. Aren't there some organizations, or research hospitals, or teaching hospitals in Southern California (where we live) that can provide these services to her for free? She's a US citizen, has paid into SS and Medicare, but is about 8 years away from being eligible for Medicare and is SUPPOSEDLY not eligible for Medicaid.