Medical Bills Often Come with Sticker Shock but Insurance Could be Reinvented to Provide Costs Upfront

The price of the doctor’s visit you calculated online might not reflect what you’ll be billed.
The price of the doctor’s visit you calculated online might not reflect what you’ll be billed.
chormail/Envato
Share
The price of the doctor’s visit you calculated online might not reflect what you’ll be billed.
The price of the doctor’s visit you calculated online might not reflect what you’ll be billed.
chormail/Envato
Medical Bills Often Come with Sticker Shock but Insurance Could be Reinvented to Provide Costs Upfront
Copy

You have scheduled an appointment with a health care provider, but no matter how hard you try, no one seems to be able to reliably tell you how much that visit will cost you. Will you have to pay US$20, $1,000 – or even more?

Patients are increasingly on the hook for health care costs through deductibles, co-pays and other fees. As a result, patients are demanding credible cost information before appointments to choose where they seek care and control their budget.

Yet, in spite of recent legislation and regulations, upfront information on patient out-of-pocket costs is still difficult to obtain from both health care providers and insurers.

Read the full article on The Conversation.

Born from tragedy, the Providence-based institute—now led by Lisa Pina-Warren—continues to fight community violence with compassion, outreach, and the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
With 90 guards already on board, DEM ramps up recruitment with bonuses and seasonal perks to fully staff state beaches before Memorial Day
A proposal to eliminate the agency protecting whales, dolphins, and seals alarms scientists and advocates, who warn the move threatens coastal ecosystems and communities nationwide
With courts acting as the last line of defense, Rhode Island ACLU’s Steven Brown discusses the stakes for democracy, due process, and free expression—both nationally and at home
Juan Francisco Méndez was detained last month after ICE agents broke into his car with an axe