- Impact
- 2,959
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This is frightening stuff and shows how the Affordable Health Care Act might not solve this problem, unless something is done to rein in the powerful hospital lobby with (gasp!) government oversight.
http://healthland.time.com/2013/02/20/bitter-pill-why-medical-bills-are-killing-us/
This long article takes both conservative and liberal views to task; Brill even suggests that health insurance companies might be victims of the powerful hospital lobby and their outrageous billing practices (I don't quite buy it, but still...)
Each hospital has a book or computer file called the "Chargemaster," and they are NOT obligated to open their chargemaster file up to the government or anyone else, which means that there is no transparency, and, therefore, they can charge patients whatever they want, often profiting between 75% - 90%. When asked why they bill so high, the general attitude seems to be, "Because we can."
One patient's one-day hospital visit cost over $21,000! (More examples in the article).
The only agency to get a relative pass is Medicare because Medicare limits the cost of each item that hospitals can charge Medicare recpients, limiting hospitals to a small profit. Even with Medicare fraud, Brill contends that the program is fairly efficient and much more fair than what hospitals inflict on uninsured patients.
Unfortunately, it's the unisured and under-insured working poor who seem to get caught in the chargemaster trap, the ones who bear the brunt of high hospital bills. What might cost $800 for a Medicare patient might cost $30,000-$40,000 for an uninsured patient. And hospitals employ bulldog collection agencies, who go after these unfortunate patients who can't pay.
Also shocking: hospitals don't have to tell you in advance what your hospital care will cost. You just have to suck it up.
Insurance companies are starting to whine about high costs because as hospitals consolidate so does their power and their ability to limit the demands of insurance companies.
If you are a U.S. citizen, you should care about this problem, even if you have fantastic insurance because in the end, these high costs all affect us in that insurance costs will continue to rise--to the point where almost no one but the very rich will be able to afford it.
Certainly, the Christian-Judeo value system would demand that we care for those less fortunate than us; obviously, the private, non-profit sector has shown time and again an inability to rein in their own greed. Perhaps it's human nature, which is why we need the government to help mediate between Capitalism interests and Social programs and responsibilities.
Best place to start: demand to see your itemized hospital bill and question EVERY item.
If both parties really cared about this problem, both Democrats and Republicans would work together in demanding hospital accountability and place limits on costs to patients, perhaps a sliding fee schedule. No one should face financial ruin because of a serious illness.
*
This is frightening stuff and shows how the Affordable Health Care Act might not solve this problem, unless something is done to rein in the powerful hospital lobby with (gasp!) government oversight.
http://healthland.time.com/2013/02/20/bitter-pill-why-medical-bills-are-killing-us/
This long article takes both conservative and liberal views to task; Brill even suggests that health insurance companies might be victims of the powerful hospital lobby and their outrageous billing practices (I don't quite buy it, but still...)
Each hospital has a book or computer file called the "Chargemaster," and they are NOT obligated to open their chargemaster file up to the government or anyone else, which means that there is no transparency, and, therefore, they can charge patients whatever they want, often profiting between 75% - 90%. When asked why they bill so high, the general attitude seems to be, "Because we can."
One patient's one-day hospital visit cost over $21,000! (More examples in the article).
The only agency to get a relative pass is Medicare because Medicare limits the cost of each item that hospitals can charge Medicare recpients, limiting hospitals to a small profit. Even with Medicare fraud, Brill contends that the program is fairly efficient and much more fair than what hospitals inflict on uninsured patients.
Unfortunately, it's the unisured and under-insured working poor who seem to get caught in the chargemaster trap, the ones who bear the brunt of high hospital bills. What might cost $800 for a Medicare patient might cost $30,000-$40,000 for an uninsured patient. And hospitals employ bulldog collection agencies, who go after these unfortunate patients who can't pay.
Also shocking: hospitals don't have to tell you in advance what your hospital care will cost. You just have to suck it up.
Insurance companies are starting to whine about high costs because as hospitals consolidate so does their power and their ability to limit the demands of insurance companies.
If you are a U.S. citizen, you should care about this problem, even if you have fantastic insurance because in the end, these high costs all affect us in that insurance costs will continue to rise--to the point where almost no one but the very rich will be able to afford it.
Certainly, the Christian-Judeo value system would demand that we care for those less fortunate than us; obviously, the private, non-profit sector has shown time and again an inability to rein in their own greed. Perhaps it's human nature, which is why we need the government to help mediate between Capitalism interests and Social programs and responsibilities.
Best place to start: demand to see your itemized hospital bill and question EVERY item.
If both parties really cared about this problem, both Democrats and Republicans would work together in demanding hospital accountability and place limits on costs to patients, perhaps a sliding fee schedule. No one should face financial ruin because of a serious illness.
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