Quote:
Originally Posted by Stellatum
Insurance companies make contracts with hospitals and doctors. For each procedure, there is an official price, and then there is a lower price that the hospital (etc.) has agreed to accept from the insurance company.
In other words, the official price means nothing, and the hospitals know this. So when you are a self-paying patient, the hospital will often give you a discount, so you don't end up paying the fake, inflated price; instead, you pay what the insurance company pays.
So the official cost of your scan may be $1250, but the insurance company doesn't pay that much.
Abby
|
Thanks Abby,
That makes a lost of sense. Seeing the higher price that one might pay without insurance, also has the effect of making one appreciating his or her insurance company even more. Had I not known the cash price, I would have assumed that I would be on the hook for the full charge. The same holds for primary care doctor visits. I was paying $95, a very good price. Now they bill $290, $20 of which is my copayment.
-Mark-