Comments on: Huge Medical Bills You Shouldn't Pay

CBS Evening News And BusinessWeek Investigate Illegal "Balance Bills"

[cbsfan73]

"Burdick was overcharged by $40,000, for items like six surgical screws - at $1,750 each."

Sounds like the screws were purchased by a VA hospital.

[cbsfan73]

States can revoke your license plate if you don''t carry vehicle insurance.

Maybe people who refuse to carry insurance should have their wages or tax refunds garnished to pay the premium?

Of course this would only be workable with a national health care plan as many people with existing health problems could only afford the premiums at a group rate.

[smurfcrusher]

"...Burdick was overcharged by $40,000, for items like six surgical screws - at $1,750 each. "


Screwed, indeed.

[shippg]

Well, we cannot fix the healthcare mess without doing away with this "accounting scheme."

[cbsfan73]

carats100 wrote:
"The $9000 is arbitrary. If this is so, then uninsured people are hit with the whole tab. The hospital "loses" $8000 on one person, and makes another take out a mortgage."

Yes, this accounting scheme also creates an inflated loss to reduce tax liabilities.

[cbsfan73]

Hispanics have passed the knowledge between each other that they should not buy health insurance because the hospital treatment is free.

[shippg]

cbsfan73, your "really worth" phrase is what I was getting at. The $9000 is arbitrary. If this is so, then uninsured people are hit with the whole tab. The hospital "loses" $8000 on one person, and makes another take out a mortgage.

[cbsfan73]

carats100 wrote:
"I have a friend who has to have a $9000 IV infusion every month. She pays $100, insurance pays $900. All the rest ($8000) is written off by the hospital every single month."

Hospitals have contracts with most insurance companies. The payments are an meet somewhere in between agreement of how much the service or product is really worth.

[cbsfan73]

InsuranceUT wrote:
"I find it VERY hard to believe that her benefits are such that she would be responsible for $60,000 of out of pocket expenses - AFTER the insurance has paid."

I too find it hard to believe. Even poor policies almost never have over a $5000 maximum out of pocket.
The whole story is not being told.

P.S. Go get a job where you actually innovate or create something. You are in an unclean business.

[shippg]

I have a friend who has to have a $9000 IV infusion every month. She pays $100, insurance pays $900. All the rest ($8000) is written off by the hospital every single month. She asked the billing office if this would continue, or would she eventually be cut off? They said that they lose a lot of money on some patients, and make a killing on others, so she should not worry. Ouch!

If med billing is that arbitrary, then they (the providers) are most of the problem. A lot of b.utt-kicking needs to go around before the problem can be fixed. Insurance companies, doctors, hospitals, drug makers, you name it. Everyone s.crews everyone else.

[cbsfan73]

Actually, they are trying to recoup costs from those that can''t afford or refuse to carry insurance. (The latter mainly applies to Hispanics.)

[cbsfan73]

Insurance and usury applied to individuals is one of the most damming (excuse the circumventing spelling)things mankind has created.

[cbsfan73]

All insurance and banking for individual citizens (corporations and businesses excluded) should be run by credit/insurance unions as non-profit organizations.

[hypnotoad72]

Get off your lazy butts and get a job!!!


(Just joking; I wanted to know how a neanderthal feels when he makes similarly blind and stupid comments...)

[sparks224]

This immoral "system" has to come to an end.

What kind of people are we?

[insuranceut]

I, too, work for a major insurance carrier. It''s great to see the story, to bring it to peoples attention, however, I feel the whole story has not been told. Is the story about the hsp sending out the HUGE bill after the insurance company has processed according to her benefits OR is the story that she doesn''t have adequate coverage?

I find it VERY hard to believe that her benefits are such that she would be responsible for $60,000 of out of pocket expenses - AFTER the insurance has paid. What is her deductible & coinsurance maximum? Did she utilize a contracted facility? If she used a contracted facility & they are balance billing - they are not holding to their contract with the carrier. There are so many stories in the news these days about healthcare & how bad it is - yet I don''t think the whole story is ever told. The media picks & chooses what they want the public to hear to get people all worked up over things. It would be nice to have the media take an educational approach to things instead.

[jdb1967rkb]

Here's an educated approach. My insurance plan, for which I pay a weekly premium, states for "In-Hospital Surgery" they will cover the for the following:

Deductible: $0
Plan Pays/You Pay: $100%/0%
Number of Occurrences per Year: No Maximum
Maximum Benefit PER Occurance: $1,500/Occurrence
Maximum Amount Paid by Plan: No Maximum

What this tells me, is that if I have surgery, the most they will pay is $1,500. When is the last time a surgery cost $1,500?

By the way, my plan is from a very famous, common, insurance carrier. I pay $88 per week. The next plan up would cost $267 per week, which during this recession is one half of what I bring home in a week.

I am also now carrying $23,000 worth of medical bills, that my insurance has declined to pay or fell into their "Maximum amount paid by plan." This was for three emergency room visits with kidney stones, and $2,000 of it to a wound treatment center for something else.

With my weekly paycheck now ranging from $400 to $600 bring home, I don't know what in the world I am going to do. I can barely pay my household expenses now. But, I make too much to qualify for government help. My children do not qualify for government insurance because I pay for that sorry $88 a week family insurance plan.

Is this educated enough for you?

[matthewsa1]

This is really a huge deal... its amazing what hospitals / insurance companies try to get away with. I''m glad to see that CBS is taking note of this, hopefully more news organizations will do the same. By the way, if you''d like the help of the medical bill advocates listed in this story (Beth Morgan and Lin Osborn), visited their website at http://www.medicalbilldetectives.com

[smtalles]

WOW! It''s about time someone does a story on this. I have worked with many individuals through my job with a major insurance company that would normally just pay the bill because the insurance paid their part...right? WRONG! So often I see many individuals being taken advantage of in this manner and the sad part is, more often than not, it was the elderly living on a fixed income. Please continue to follow up on this story and investigate this practice as it doesn''t only happen in California...it''s all over! People wonder why healthcare is so expensive. Well, this isn''t the only reason but it sure contributes to the problem. Good work CBS! Keep it up! Keep this story alive!

[smtalles]

WOW! It''s about time someone does a story on this. I have worked with many individuals through my job with a major insurance company that would normally just pay the bill because the insurance paid their part...right? WRONG! So often I see many individuals being taken advantage of in this manner and the sad part is, more often than not, it was the elderly living on a fixed income. Please continue to follow up on this story and investigate this practice as it doesn''t only happen in California...it''s all over! People wonder why healthcare is so expensive. Well, this isn''t the only reason but it sure contributes to the problem. Good work CBS! Keep it up! Keep this story alive!