A study by researchers at the Brown University School of Public Health found that avoidable mortality rose across all U.S. states from 2009 to 2021, while it declined in most other high-income countries.
Wildcards, sometimes you need to see people and have no idea what you will pay in the end since sometimes they will do work or use something that isn’t fully covered so you then get a bill a month later telling you insurance only covered this you owe the difference.
You can request preauthorizations for an estimate.
I always try to request those.
Not always practical, however, especially when it’s urgent.
It’s up to you to figure out if that’s correct or not then go down the path of fighting it.
Fighting it is the worst.
It’s a 3-body problem—you, the insurance, the provider—and you’re caught in the middle.
You can’t just tell anyone in plain language “my insurance covers preventative care cost-free, so why am I being charged for this?”
They force you to do the detective work, and they don’t make it easy.
You basically have to know billing codes better than the billers and tell everyone to use correct ones.
The billing codes aren’t necessarily printed on billing statements or claims (mine didn’t have them).
Their meanings & provisions are unexplained.
The patient has no reason to understand them or know they exist.
Infuriating system.
This is just scratching the surface
You didn’t mention deductibles.
Before copay or coinsurance kicks in, your policy may require paying a deductible.
Cost sharing provisions vary by policy.
High deductible insurance plans come with a health savings account, which is completely tax-free (no taxes on contributions, their earnings, or eligible distributions) for health expenses including any type of cost share (deductible, copay, coinsurance).
As long as you pay health expenses with other funds & retain the receipts, it functions in practice as a smaller investment retirement account with less taxes than IRAs.
Somewhat interesting.
Health insurance typically doesn’t cover dental or vision: those need separate plans.
Another thing, you can’t just not have insurance. If you don’t, you will have to pay a penalty on your taxes for the time not covered.
Federally as of 2019 that was set to $0, so the amount ends up varying by state & could be $0.
You can request preauthorizations for an estimate. I always try to request those. Not always practical, however, especially when it’s urgent.
Fighting it is the worst. It’s a 3-body problem—you, the insurance, the provider—and you’re caught in the middle. You can’t just tell anyone in plain language “my insurance covers preventative care cost-free, so why am I being charged for this?” They force you to do the detective work, and they don’t make it easy. You basically have to know billing codes better than the billers and tell everyone to use correct ones. The billing codes aren’t necessarily printed on billing statements or claims (mine didn’t have them). Their meanings & provisions are unexplained. The patient has no reason to understand them or know they exist. Infuriating system.
You didn’t mention deductibles. Before copay or coinsurance kicks in, your policy may require paying a deductible. Cost sharing provisions vary by policy.
High deductible insurance plans come with a health savings account, which is completely tax-free (no taxes on contributions, their earnings, or eligible distributions) for health expenses including any type of cost share (deductible, copay, coinsurance). As long as you pay health expenses with other funds & retain the receipts, it functions in practice as a smaller investment retirement account with less taxes than IRAs. Somewhat interesting.
Health insurance typically doesn’t cover dental or vision: those need separate plans.
Federally as of 2019 that was set to $0, so the amount ends up varying by state & could be $0.