My wife and I were debating the billing practices of physicians today. I am constantly annoyed about going to the doctor and getting bills for the next year for services I had no idea I received. This is due to the fact that medical providers have hidden costs and collection practices that in any other industry would be completely illegal. But if you say it’s under the auspices of healthcare, it’s alright.Let me if I can summarize the particulars:
Say you take your car to a mechanic for a transmission problem. The mechanic doesn’t actually work on transmissions, they just remove them and send it out to another shop for work and then put it back in your car. When you get the bill, you pay the mechanic and he pays the other shop. If the other shop isn’t paid, that’s between the two parties, not you. You only pay the guy with whom you had the business agreement.
Now imagine the mechanics shop was run by a physician:
First you would have to see if the mechanic was covered under your plan. If they are, great! You go and have your car worked on. However, that’s not the end of it!
It turns out the mechanic sent the transmission to another shop. This shop just happens to participate with your plan, however, they contract out to a mechanic that works for another group that doesn’t contract. So now you get a bill from the other shop AND from the mechanic who did the work. But wait…there’s more! The mechanic wasn’t really an expert in that type of transmission so they “consulted” with another mechanic who worked in their shop, but was actually an independent mechanic who worked for himself. All the work was done according to spec, and you pay the mechanic for the work and go home happy as a clam.
Now several months go by. All of a sudden you start getting bills from shops and people you’ve never heard of. The bills are outlandish as well. You were quoted $1200.00 for a new transmission. You got your car and you paid it. Now all of a sudden you have a $700.00 bill from a shop you’ve never heard of. You throw it away because you think “who is this ass wad?” I’ve never heard of these people this must be a mistake. You remember that six months ago you had transmission work but you paid that and it was from a different shop. Not only that it was on your plan and it was covered.
Pretty soon another few months go by and you get a collection notice for the initial $700.00. Also you get another bill from a mechanic’s group for $300.00 for the same work. You also find that you have received another bill for $1800.00 for “consulting services” from a third mechanic who you have never heard of. All in all your $1200.00 transmission repair is now $4000.00. You call all these people and they say they were contracted by your original mechanic. You say “so…go talk to him.” “They say no, you owe us money.” You say “well…I don’t have a contract with you and didn’t agree to this so go pound sand.” They sue you and collect a grand total of $10,000.00 for the work.
If this happened with you getting your car fixed, you’d likely head back to the original mechanic and shove a lug wrench up his ass. However, when it comes to medical care and their dubious business practices it is fair game. People complain about how banks and credit card companies treat their customers. I don’t think anyone has ever really looked at how medical professionals bill their clients. Want to save billions on healthcare? Make providers follow the same practices that any other profession is forced to follow. That would be start. Because for now, U.S. Healthcare is a criminal enterprise.
Rex