Can a hospital charge an uninsured patient more than they charge an patient with healh insurance?

Question

Can a private hospital charge patients differently depending on whether or not they have insurance to cover the charges?

Answer 1

Yes. Insurance companies (which are businesses) can negotiate with private facilties (which are businesses) for the lowest prices . . much like any type of commodity. It will drive you crazy if you try to figure it out. But, with the high costs of insurance . . it is still less expensive to be on a good health insurance policy than it is to try and pay medical expenses yourself. Insurance . . if you need it . . turns out to be a bargain. Those without insurance stand to lose all their savings as they still must pay for their medical needs. until all assets are exhausted and they are at poverty level.

An individual does not have the bargaining power that the insurance industry has and can be charged a higher rate.

Answer 2

Sure - charging the uninsured more is the norm rather than the exception. Welcome to the American health care system.

Once I was in a bad auto accident and was so messed up that I could not remember the name of my health insurance administrators (insured by private employer) and so the ambulance drivers and hospital thought I was uninsured. When I received a copy of my hospital bill it looked like they spent the day passing large carts of hospital supplies past the door of my room and then adding all the costs onto my bill. The hospital had expected to have to write off the bill of someone who was uninsured as a loss so they wanted to maximize the amount of their loss for tax purposes. After my insurance company got through whittling down the bill it ended up about one third the amount originally charged. This is why a health crisis by someone with no health insurance is the number one reason for people having to declare bankruptcy in the US. Those with the least ability to pay get charged the most and receive little or no write offs on the billings they receive. What a racket.

Answer 3

The insurance companies have a negotiated rate with the hospital which is a whole lot lower than what they charge people with no insurance. It is a terrible inequity. Some hospitals might negotiate with an individual if it meant not getting paid if they didn't agree to do this.

Answer 4

Yes. They have contracts with the insurance companies they accept about how much the insurance will pay. So, they bill the insurance for the full price minus your copay. Insurance pays the negotiated amount, and rest is written off.

People without insurance dont have a company to negotiate a lower rate, and therefor pay full price.

Answer 5

I can almost hear you thinking something unethical or illegal is going on, but it really isn't: think about it, can a business club charge non-members higher fees for goods & services than members? Of course. The members have paid some kind of membership fee.

Health insurance is really just a club.