Hospitals cut costs for uninsured

[ckramer]

Two of the state's largest hospital networks, Partners HealthCare and UMass Memorial Health Care, will no longer routinely charge uninsured patients full ''sticker price" for medical care, but instead will offer 15 to 50 percent discounts, in some cases as much as the mark-downs large health insurers receive.

The goals are to provide a price break for uninsured patients who earn too much money to qualify for state assistance and to make collecting payments from them easier. The new policies come at a time when hospitals across the US face criticism and lawsuits over aggressive billing methods and for routinely charging the uninsured far more for treatment than they do health insurers.

Executives at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center said they routinely give patients discounts, but most hospitals don't offer reductions or offer them only for specific services, or if patients ask to negotiate a lower rate.

The Partners and UMass policies are among the first formal, publicized policies in Massachusetts that guarantee discounts to a broad group of patients and don't depend on patients requesting a markdown.

link

[havocmom]

1. Was somebody sniffing around for Class Action Suit since the uninsured

seem to be able to document much higher charges for the same proceedures?

Rat bastards, charging the working poor more and sending collection agencies out to make sure they get it. x(

[kdogg3232]

2. Good....

...it's ridiculous that the uninsured pay "full sticker price" when insurance companies get huge discounts. Why penalize people for not having insurance when it is actually easier for both the doctor and the hospital to collect from someone who is self pay?

This goes along with another thread about Massachussetts requiring everyone to obtain health insurance. People really should take advantage of high deductible health plans and HSA's (where available)....especially younger workers.

[brainshrub]

3. If your broke, 50% of $30,000 will still break your back.

The solution isn't miserly discounts, but a single-payer health-care system.

[ckramer]

4. The United States is the only industrialized nation in the world...

...that does not guarantee health care to all of its citizens.

What a shame.

Howard Dean, Speak up!

[rodeodance]

6. the dems/dean et all REALLY need to make Health care a priority!!

[Benhurst]

8. What a dump!

[UpInArms]

5. I had some lab work done a couple of years ago

(self employed - no insurance - cost to insure my fam is over $1,000 a month with $5,000 deduct)

The lab billed me for $160 - when I called to ask why so much, they told me that Medicare only paid $25 for the same test and since I had no insurance, I had to cover the difference in what the tests cost and how much Medicare paid.

Needless to say, I paid my bill but am still steaming mad about the whole thing.

[Straight Shooter]

7. You think that's bad, a had a doctor visit 3 years ago.

It took one hour, it was indeed for a serious problem, but when I got the bill it was $2400. You read that right. Two thousand four hundred dollars. I almost fainted.

Fortunately, a friend advised that I seek state assistance because of my dire employment situation and no health insurance. I was accepted into their program and the bills from that time were covered, including surgery. Up to that point, I had spent probably $4,000.

Should I have had insurance all along? Yes. But even now, I can't afford the premiums. It's a vicious cycle.

[ckramer]

12. Man!

2,400 dollars for a fucking visit? That's fucking crazy only in America!

Mr. Howard Dean, speak up !

[ernstbass]

9. This is a good start

but we need a national health care plan. It is criminal that for profit insurance companies can negotiate reduced rates when the uninsured person gets the shaft for the full bill. I hope other providers quickly follow suit.

[LongTomH]

10. Medical Care Costs Now a Frequent Cause of Homelessness

I guess most of you know that medical costs are becoming the major cause of bankruptcies; what's less known is that those same costs are among the reasons people become homeless. The Guardian UK site carried this article in 2003:

Born in France into a military family and brought up in San Antonio, Texas, Pirate Steve, 46, is not untypical of the village's residents. Many have had decent jobs but hit hard times as a result of injury or illness, found themselves unable to pay their bills, and ended up on the street.

"I lived in a suburb of Fort Worth," said Gary Spry, an electrician and father of four who lives in the village with his wife and youngest daughter. "If someone had said to me I would have ended up homeless, I would have laughed in their face."

But an accident, followed by a series of operations not fully covered by his work insurance, meant Spry had to abandon his house.

Please note that Gary Spry had medical insurance; it just didn't cover everything. That seems to be an increasingly common story in medical bankruptcies.

You can imagine what people in Britain must think of the backward U.S. Their National Health Service is far from perfect; but, at least they have national health care.

America's homeless become new small-town pioneers

[napi21]

11. I can tell you how the prices are assigned by hospitals.

A very good friend of mine is Dir. of Accounting for a VERY large hosp. system in the North East. I've asked her about this, and here's the deal.

Lets say it costs $5 million a month to operate the hospital, including equipment depreciation, and building amortization. They negotiate a pricing structure with the different insurance groups that operate in their area, also negotiations with the various pharmaceutical suppliers, equipment, supplies, and all other services needed to make the hospital function. Based upon services rendered, they know how much $$ the insurance companies, Medicare, Medicaid,etc. are going to provide according to their contracts, and subtract that "income" from the total expenses. Ther is ALWAYS a NEGATIVE result. That negative # is divided amoung all the uninsured patients, and individually applied to the various services and medications provided. That's how they come with the $10.00 asprin!

Now you and I may not agree with this method, but I son't have an alternative suggestion! It's the same as me having an income of $3000 a month and $5000 in expenses. I have to find that extra $$ somewhere!

I tried the, just demand higher reimbursement from the ins. co's and State & Fed. agencies. The problem with that is, they are very BIG, aand weild a lot of power. IF you can't come to some agreement on reimbursement amounts, they just won't do business with you, and then the hospital closes!

There is definately something wrong with our entire health care system, but I don't think it's isolated to any one part. My suspision is that most of the fault lies with the ins. co's because their profits are the least transparent.