|
Mutt, the way I analyzed what happened with me and what the suit from the corporation that owned the hospital I was in explained was this:
You go for medical care. They price it through the roof.
The insurance company pays out.
But the insurance company does NOT pay those inflated prices. They pay the "real" price (which is what I finally ended up paying myself).
BUT...the insurance company paperwork that YOU see shows that they paid that overinflated bill.
And they take those cooked books and adjust premiums accordingly.
In other words, the hospital bill shows you $100,000
Let's say you've already covered your deductible for the year and the insurance is paying it all.
The insurance company now "negotiates" (but not in any form of what we would define a "negotiation") and actually pays out $15,000 (which is really what your hospital stay was).
But you don't know that. All you ever see is what the hospital billed you. And then the insurance company sends you a "Explanation of Benefits" and that shows you what the hospital billed you and that the insurance "covered" it.
Now at the end of the year, the insurance company takes the set of figures from the hospitals original bill and uses those figures to adjust (raise) your premium.
THAT is the scam. And that is the real reason we are all paying exponentially more for our insurance premiums.
The rich get richer...
|