Quote:
Originally Posted by Derwood
there's zero competition on an individual level because almost everyone's insurance is through their employer. If your company says "we're switching from Blue Cross/Blue Shield to Cigna this year", you don't have a whole lot of choice in the matter (unless you want to drop your company insurance and pay double to get it individually)
|
There are multiple companies to choose from so prices are extremely competitive. Your employer shops around each year come renewal time and decides what is the best and often cheapest plan for the employee's
---------- Post added at 08:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:03 PM ----------
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cynthetiq
Make doctors and hospitals PUBLISH rates, everyone pays the same rate. No "group discount" everyone is in the SAME group, everyone gets that discount.
This way I can shop around to see just how much all the ITEMS cost and make decisions based on actual costs as opposed to estimates and unknown items. Getting 4 bills for my operation was just stupid. Getting billed for an Xray for a normal visit because the insurance company decided that it's a different company so it's covered differently and I pay that out of my own pocket, I guess when I'm being wheeled on a gurney I need to ask what is and isn't covered by my insurance BEFORE they provide service.
Finally, pay. I'm now on 80/20 instead of the $10 copay. I can tell you that it's more painful to pay for the 20% but I am much more thoughtful in going to the doctor or dentist. Much more thoughtful.
---------- Post added at 07:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:41 PM ----------
Most employers I have been employed by have 2 or 3 different plans, basic, middle tier and most expensive tier. All with different companies.
|
The reason you pay one company for an er visit and another for an xray has nothing to do with insurance. Each hospital basically subcontracts certain departments. so there are multiple companies billing your insurer for each incident