Re: Medical billing is whack

"Kajikit" <kajikit@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message 
news:od74245t3tf68gqem4vriqd81q4ni2nut0@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>
> Probably around $100,000 on paper... of which BCBS paid maybe $25,000
> and the rest disappeared into the void. Modern medicine is scarily
> expensive.

Over the past few years, I have been insured by very large company
insurance 
pools, an individual family policy through BCBS, and self-insured.  All 
bills submitted to the insurance companies were very large, and the 
insurance companies generally payed less than half of the amount billed, 
with us paying whatever the deductible/copay was.  The surprise (at least
to 
us) was that during the self-insured period, most medical bills were for 
less than what the insurance companies were billed for the same services, 
but more than what the insurance companies actually payed.  The kicker was

that several providers offered discounts ranging from 30% to 50% if we
payed 
at the time of the visit, as opposed to having them send us a bill.  This 
resulted in fees closer to or less than what the insurance companies were 
paying...
   ...Roy