Over 144k: A Case Study

Offices should have a well written payment/collection policy because you want to make sure that the patients know what is expected of them. Collecting and taking payments from patients can already be a challenge. So when a patient is aware of the written payment/collection policy, they are less likely to have problems with person taking the payments.

“The Bitter Pill: Why medical bills are killing us” written by Steven Brill delves into the question as to why medical bills are so high. As Brill begins his research he analyzed bills from hospitals, doctors, and drug companies. Additionally, he interviewed doctors, Medicare and insurance administrators, and gathered patient stories across the nation. He found that the United States spent more money on healthcare than any other developed countries, he stated “We may be shocked at the $60 billion price tag for cleaning up after Hurricane Sandy, [however], we spent almost that much last week on healthcare” (Brill 2013). He also noted “yet in every measurable way, the results our healthcare system produces are no better and often worse than the outcomes in those countries” (Brill 2013). From the charts and graphs that Brill provided shows that the sixty percent of personal bankruptcy filings per year are related to medical bills. Life expectancy in the United States is the lowest amongst the countries that spend most on healthcare, our infant mortality rank is fiftieth in the world, and that one pill cost as much as seven pills in other developed countries such as France. Brill found that in many similar cases, like that ones he presented in the article, Medicare would have at least paid for a small portion of the bill. However, those who don’t qualify for Medicaid and don’t have insurance are often asked to pay excessive prices.

Medical Debt Collection starts when medical services are rendered, whether it’s by choice or an emergency. A serious illness or even a relatively brief stay in a hospital is apt to leave you with a pile of medical bills that you cannot afford to pay, even if you have health insurance(Reed and Detweiler,2015). After

Inflated billing. This is more common in hospital settings. However, it can still happen at the practice level. A patient goes in for surgery to correct his badly broken ankle. His insurance company receives a bill that is bloated with overcharges. Medical screws costing $2000 each for example. This kind of mistake is generally not so

According to Newsweek, the University Medical Center on average has about $100,000 dollars a month in unpaid doctor’s visits and operations and special procedures; this burden gets passed on to the County taxpayer (Johnson). Unpaid bills occur due to people taken to the hospital and either do not have, or have very poor health insurance. The current process is not fair to anyone, whether one has no health insurance or one who has paid for it. Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, otherwise referred to as Obamacare, signed into law on March 23, 2010, this requires all Americans to purchase health insurance. The purchase of this care is purchased either individually or through the government market place. The act will lower

With the health care system the way it was structured it seemed, as the only way a person could get adequate health care is if you either did not get sick or made enough money to pay the costly medical bills if you did constantly visit the doctor. The number one reason for families in America to fall into bankruptcy was noted as being medical bills and cost, quite frankly any person facing a potential life threatening illness is going to seek medical help and is not going to worry about the cost if it means life or death. An when you are living with either no insurance of your condition causes you to be bumped from your insurance provider because you’ve become to expensive for them seems almost

There are countless significant factors that affect this problem, although most of them are society and the way that they portray their predetermined biases to the poor or anyone who is struggling. The only way to alleviate these issues is to continue to educate the people in hopes that future generations will rectify the wrong of the past. Nevertheless, we can orchestrate some ways to lessen the burden of the underserved from listening to their needs, for instance, lack of transportation, including travel time, and safety to and from the physician’s office would allow many to truly have the ability to utilize their insurance. Another issue is clinic and appointment wait time, inability to pay co-pays or prescription fees, knowledge of benefits, and the poor treatment they receive from front office staff and medical assistance due to their insurance status (Freed, Hansberry, & Arrieta). Recipients of employee based commercial insurance can’t possibly understand the difficulties that the poverty stricken population endure just trying to use their insurance and due to this there is no empathy or response to these struggles. The common belief system in America is that everybody is given the same opportunity and if you are struggling, it is your own fault. This is a complete, nonsensical way of thinking.

More than 60 percent of personal bankruptcies in the United States are caused by medical bills. Of those bankruptcies that were caused by medical bills, 75 percent of them involved individuals that have health insurance. When an individual gets sick in this country their first thought is usually ways they can avoiding going to the doctor so they do not have to try and pay for their visit regardless of if they are insured or not. Even now after the Affordable Health Care Act (ObamaCare) has been installed, many Americans are left without coverage. ObamaCare is mainly for those individuals without health insurance, therefore, if you are uninsured you must get insurance or pay a monthly tax to still get coverage. With that being said many people are still left without quality coverage or at risk of getting taxed if they were to lose their job. What many people do not realize is that insurance companies have now raised their prices or cancelled plans due to this new Act still making it difficult for some to get insurance. America is still lacking in healthcare compared to many countries around the world. In other countries their government pays for most of the healthcare costs and the system is almost completely universal. The way the United States government distributes our money is not always in the citizens’ best interest and should be revised leaving more benefits for the people of this country. The American Health Care plan recently adopted

The lack of health insurance reached began to become a serious issue in the mid-1990’s reaching a crisis level in the 2000’s. Individuals without insurance turned to emergency rooms across the country to obtain care routine care, turning emergency departments into primary care facilities. In many instances, people who presented at emergency rooms for treatment could not be turned away due to various health and safety regulations; therefore, patients were seen without the ability to pay often leaving the hospitals with millions of dollars in uncollectable debt, subsequently leading to the insolvency of hundreds of hospitals across the United States.

People need to be more aware of the things that they are engaging in and know what it is that they are getting and paying for. One of the cheapest ways to cut down on health care spending is if people change their lifestyles by eating healthier, exercising more daily, weekly or monthly than they were doing before and this could make the biggest impact for all of us. This will defiantly cut out unnecessary trips to the doctor or the hospital. Parents need to also educate their children to be healthier and watch what they eat and

The rising cost of health care has led companies to stop offering health insurance for employees, and private insurance is often too expensive for people to afford. Many families make too much money to qualify for Medicaid, but are unable to pay for private health insurance. Health care costs in the United States have more than doubled in the last twenty years. Insurance premiums are rising five times faster than wages, and Americans are spending more money on health care than people in any other country. The average amount one person pays per year for health care in the United States is 134 times higher than the average of other industrialized countries (“Health Care Issues”). Even people who have insurance aren’t guaranteed coverage. Many insurance companies find loopholes to avoid paying for expensive medical treatment, leaving people with massive debt from medical bills. Medical bills and illness cause over half of all personal bankruptcies in the United

Another reason for the rising cost of healthcare is the cost of physician care, according to the American Hospital Association “the cost of physician care, both to insurance and patients, has risen 1.3% during the past year.” Because of this increase doctors are put in a corner, they are already locked into an agreement with the insurance companies and do not have much ‘wiggle’ room to negotiate fees and rates. So because of this the patients and consumers are forced to pay a much larger sum. Since there are higher costs and the insurers will not cover them, they are distributes to the customers through higher deductibles, co-insurance, and

Health care expenses are a never ending headache that create numerous liabilities. Liabilities are created when goods or services are purchased on credit and obtained through short- term and long- term loans. Health care expenses create liabilities such that payments are made late or no payments are made at all. In some cases, the cost of health care expenses are unaffordable resulting in those type of payments. To prevent large health care debt, many individuals seek health insurance. Health insurance is provided by private insurance companies or by the government. It covers health care expenses and provides the necessary health care. Although, health insurance is necessary it can also be very costly.

When an individual or family does not have insurance, and can not or does not pay their medical bills, the cost of that care is "shifted" to patients who do have insurance. For example, a study done by Harvard University found that 50 percent of all bankruptcy filings were partly the result of major medical expenses. The average medical expenses in these bankruptcy filings were $12,000. And someone files bankruptcy every 30 seconds in this country. (National Coalition on Healthcare, 2005, Facts on health care costs). Most of those lost dollars are shifted to consumers in higher premiums and costs.

People are poor and not all can afford the fees for care or have insurance.