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#2 | Posted by LampLighter at 2025-11-27 11:20 PM
Once, my doctor said I needed an MRI... So, I went to the hospital, and participated in the MRI experience.
Did you ask doctor's staff or call insurance company where to take MRI, or call the hospital to ask if they accept your insurance and/or how much MRI would cost before just walking in and saying "Can I do my MRI here?"
Most people understand that that's how medical insurance (including Medicare and Medicaid) works - standard practice.
Shortly afterwards, I received a letter with a bill enclosed. The letter ... said, ~we don't participate in any medical insurance plans, so you have to pay us directly. That will be (hundreds of dollars). Due date is (30 days later). Yes, it was valid.
Of course, it was valid. You received a bill for service rendered, which you signed the form for as "guarantor of payment" - again, standard practice.
OK, I never approved, or even asked, the entity who sent me that letter for their medical assistance. It seemed to be the private-equity-owned hospital...
Of course, you approved the procedure when you signed the forms (that's why the bill was valid) and "the entity" that sent you the bill is 99.9% likely to be the firm providing accounting/billing services for that hospital - again, standard practice. As former manager you should've understood that.
Whether the hospital is owned by "private equity" or not makes not a bit of difference in how billing is done, or whether they accept certain insurance for certain procedures. Shop carefully.
Fortunately, it was only a few hundred dollars?
That's what MRIs usually cost - $300-$600 depending on provider and body part.
I have seen reports on the local CT news of similar occurrences, but with tens of thousands of dollars involved.
Probably not for MRI, and by people who didn't bother to check the costs of procedures and coverage by their insurance beforehand.
Healthcare in the Country is broken.
When was it un-broken and what broke it this time?
It's clearly considered "broken" in the UK's "free and universal / single-payer" system?
www.theguardian.com - Wes Streeting to axe thousands of jobs at NHS England after ousting of chief executive - 2025-02-25
www.theguardian.com - The Guardian view on Labour and the NHS: there is no miracle cure for a struggling health system - 2025-03-04
Why cannot the wealthiest nation on the planet provide affordable healthcare for its citizens?
Have you looked at the other side of the ledger? The "wealthiest nation on the planet" has USD$38B in debt and counting (fast), even without "free and universal healthcare" that is breaking national healthcare systems in countries like UK.
Overwhelming majority of households in the US are covered by the employers insurance and/or Medicare, with low or no out-of-pocket premiums, so in that sense it's more "affordable" than in most countries.
US healthcare sector in 2025 was USD4.87 trillion - about 18% of the US GDP and larger than GDP of most countries.
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