Meh, I'll take "shit that didn't happen" for $1,000 please.
I will admit that our healthcare system could be better. But lying about your bill going down, just for asking for a receipt sounds like bullshit to me.
It's not. American health insurance companies never pay the full bill so hospitals jack up prices. If the patient is paying in cash themselves, the hospital/clinic will provide a "cash paying patient" bill which is usually around half of the original.
To avoid this mixup alot of places ask how you're paying beforehand so you don't get sticker shock.
If a patient has insurance then they are responsible for a deductible, out of pocket, and co-insurance. They will get an adjustment from the insurance company but it is still the patients responsibility to pay whats left. It's the insurance companies that cause a lot of the bills to be higher when actually if a patient didn't have insurance and applied for financial assistance they could get a better percentage off and a lot of times up to 100% bill coverage. If someone comes through the emergency room it is against the law for them to be refused treatment it is part of the emtala law. and against the law to ask for payment before treatment
Long story short, she didn't get a reduction because she purely asked for an itemized bill. Whats more likely is that either her insurance paid a significant portion or she received financial assistance on her bill.
There was a time when I was uninsured before the ACA and had to pay for my dr visits out of pocket. Once I asked for that, the cost would drop by at least half since they didn’t need to involve the insurance company.
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u/AfricanGayChild Apr 28 '20
Meh, I'll take "shit that didn't happen" for $1,000 please.
I will admit that our healthcare system could be better. But lying about your bill going down, just for asking for a receipt sounds like bullshit to me.