I guess it's a good thing I titled this blog years ago thats it's quilts and rambling cause I seem to do a lot of rambling the last few days. The ideas behind Obama's healthcare act have always been half baked and unrealistic. Can you imagine small employers that beginning January must offer employer paid health care or pay a fine of $2000 per employee? Even larger companies in this economy have realized they have to cut back coverage. While it's a shame and I wish every company offered health care, fining them will not produce more jobs or more coverage. My coverage costs $7,985 a year. Would an employer pay that instead of the $2,000 fine? NO but he may have to cut jobs and pay or hours to cover the expense of the fines. So, fining employers does nothing but raise revenue for the government.
Today the government ruled to delay fining businesses until 2014. Did you know that beginning Jan 2013 if you do not have healthcare that individuals will be fined $95. Ask your elected officials why the waiver for businesses but not individuals. Let's be honest, everyone would prefer to have healthcare if they could afford it but with wages what they are vs. the economy most people without employer plans cannot afford it. So, instead of something to make it more affordable, lets fine people cause they can't afford it. This insane law will hurt so many mid to low income families.
Instead of hating and battling insurance companies, talk to your eleted officials about what needs to be done to control costs but do it looking at the big picture. It's not the insuance companies that you have to go after to lower premiums, it's the medical providers. Wonder why your premium is so high? Insurance companies are being robbed by providers. I had lab work done last week and when I arrived at quest was told they no longer accepted United Healthcare. I could pay for the tests myself or go to another facility. Since I was already there I asked the costs and was told is $640 but could be lower for uninsured people. Well obviously since I have coverage I decided to go to an in network provider instead. So I arrived at Labcor and after a 4 hour wait got my labs done. Before presenting my card I aksed the price of the tests and she said if you have no insurance it would be $103. I gave her my UHC card and she said no co-pay so I left assuming my insurance would be billed $103. Monday I saw the claim on my UHC statement and they were billed $300 - three times the price of someone who just walked in the door. Hello America, this is why healthcare coverage is unaffordable. Why does the insurance company pay 3 times what I would have paid? I talked to the lab and UHC and no one could gove me an answer except we bill more cause they pay us less than the bill.
I agree with you this is so stupid. My knee replacement surgery was 77 thousand dollars. I got the invoice by mistake that they sent to United Health Care, then they sent me the one for me. My invoice showed 34 thousand, when I called ,she said it was because they always take deductions, so they charge them more to begin with. Makes a lot of sense doesn't it??????
ReplyDeleteThats why they grossly overcharge, cause they know they won't get paid for even half of what they bill. How about you pay them a fair fee and they only bill what they actually expect to get paid for.
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