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Originally Posted by alpo
flstf - As a doc, I can honestly say I do not know what one person will pay for a service. The prices are dictated by the insurance companies. Usually your copay will be set at a certain level so you are only required to pay a small fee. The insurance company will dictate what they think is "fair and customary" for a certain procedure or level of care in your area. It's pretty easy to for them to say that a performing a procedure, like a colonoscopy, should be a certain fee based on the cost needed for medicines, equipment, etc. It's a lot harder to figure out how your doc should be compensated for managing your diabetes, high blood pressure, and depression. Is my knowledge, training, thought about you and your medical problems worth as much as the service provided by the person who does a procedure?
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Thanks alpo. Am I right in assuming that the majority of health care costs are currently being determined by the insurance companies? As a doctor do you think this is working or should the government come in and take control? I have read of cases (lawsuits) where hospitals are charging uninsured people much more than those in the insurance pools.
I am currently working with Anthem to set up a HSA account where anything up to $10,000 will be paid by me each year until the deductible is exceeded. Of couse I want to spend as little of the $10K deductible as possible so the cost of health care becomes very important. That's why I'm trying to evaluate the best cost/quality of the doctors and dentists I choose. I'm not sure Anthem will care about the costs until I exceed the deductible (if ever) when they have to pay something.