Name:   Talullahhound - Subject:   Healthcare question Date:   10/8/2016 3:18:50 PM

You really do have to scrutinize bills, because you will find charges for Drs. that perhaps walked past your door, and a lot of tests/procedures that you didn't have. When you call them on it, they will usually claim it was a billing error due to miscoding.  I remember when my mother was ill with a chronic illness that eventually took her life.  As you say, she was a better than average health care consumer.  He scrutinzed her bills and was constantly on the phone with the insurance company.  When she died during surgery, he refused to allowt them to bill for the entire surgery - which was $69,000 (this was almost 20 years ago).  He insisted that they reduce it since she died in the middle of surgery.  And then there was an unknown Dr. who contiually billed him for $7.98.  He refused to pay it because it wasn't a Dr. that was part of her care team.  That dr. continued to bill him for 4 months, then startd sending threatening notices.  He finally called the Dr. and they waiverd the bill.

I also check my billing statements, because I have found charges for office visits and blood work I did not have.  It's always written off as a coding error, but I really wonder if Drs sometimes misbill someone with good insurance  for people that can't pay.  I could live with that better than just being mischarged. 

The big problem with single payer would be the government would contract the execution out to a contractor and totally lose control. In my insurance program, the government negotiates with the various insurance providers (there is a choice of about 25 providers, all with different charges and coverage) and has leverage becasue of the large base.  Individuals trying to get insurance for themselves have no leverage at all.