BeepCouple left with $200k bill after baby born in US
TigerAceFrom what I’ve heard from Americans working in hospitals is that this bill is what the hospital writes but they only charge a small amount and declare the rest at their own insurance as a loss. So the couple would end up with a bill of a few hundred dollars, nothing more. This is common practice, is what those people told me. I don’t know if this is the case in every state though. But it sure is one weird fucked up system.
Insurance companies make deals with hospitals along the lines of “We’ll pay 1k for this procedure which should cost 300 bucks, or 40% of your standard rates, whichever is lower.” So the standard rate becomes 1600.
Then the insurance company will require a 40% “copay” based on the standard rates, and the patient ends up paying the $1000 and the insurance company doesn’t pay shit despite collecting hundreds a month in premiums.
I discovered years ago that hospital visits can cost less if you tell them you don’t have insurance.
And this is embraced because profit is capped to a percentage of payouts