Originally Posted by dyna mo

A Long Beach hospital charged Jo Ann Snyder $6,707 for a CT scan of her abdomen and pelvis after colon surgery. But because she had health insurance with Blue Shield of California, her share was much less: $2,336.
Then Snyder tripped across one of the little-known secrets of healthcare: If she hadn't used her insurance, her bill would have been even lower, just $1,054.


At Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, where Snyder got her CT scan, the hospital's chief financial officer said insured patients like her pay more to subsidize the uncompensated care given to the uninsured and low reimbursements for Medicaid patients.
"We end up being forced to charge a premium to health plans to make the books balance," said John Bishop, the hospital's finance chief. "It's a backdoor tax on employers and consumers."


http://www.latimes.com/business/heal...#ixzz2oggQFRgN