Cost control right now in the medical industry is all up to your insurance provider, from the article it looks like EmCare is skirting this by simply not partic

Cost control right now in the medical industry is all up to your insurance provider, from the article it looks like EmCare is skirting this by simply not participating in any (or very few) provider networks. I work for a medical billing company owned by a competitor to EmCare, we participate it a large number of insurance networks at each site we staff because it's the best way to get reimbursed - I'm rather shocked the hospital didn't investigate how their contracted providers handled insurance contracts and billing. The problem with trying to provide quotes for emergency services is you don't know ahead of time what E&M code will apply to the visit, what labs will be run, what procedures may be required for treatment, and since physician and facility billing are separate the right hand doesn't know what the left is doing. I also have some suspicions about the jump from 6% to 28% rates for billing what I assume is a 99285 (highest level non-trauma ED E&M code) and why it may explain the lack of their participation in insurance networks, but I don't want to tread into libel territory so I'll keep my mouth shut. Disclaimer: I work for MedAmerica Billing Services, Inc. a subsidiary of CEP America - these views, opinions and statements are my own and don't necessarily reflect those of my employer.