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How does that work: insurers trying to keep as many customers as possible is disjoint from the customer satisfaction a patient has when receiveing healthcare at
by nomercy400 8y ago
How does that work: insurers trying to keep as many customers as possible is disjoint from the customer satisfaction a patient has when receiveing healthcare at a hospital.
As a patient I don't think about my insurer when I'm at a hospital. I just want to be treated.
It's more likely to be the opposite, where the hospitals with the better healthcare and care of the patients have to spend more money and thus get less contracts with the insurers, who have an incentive to reduce cost as much as possible. Out of the 4 hospitals I've visited for healthcare in my area, only 1 will currently be covered by insurers in their most basic plan next year, and that one is the most remote.
Basically, next year I cannot visit my regular hospitals to continue my current treatment plan without getting a more expensive basic healthcare plan (+15%, or roughly 220euro).
- jillesvangurp 8y agoNo it is not. Hospitals need to negotiate with insurers to get bills payed. So insurers have a strong negotiation position here. In a dysfunctional market like the US where insurers have near monopolies that basically means they get to screw people over and cut cost everywhere they can. Meanwhile hospitals maximize their bills to insurers while minimizing their actual cost. Patient happiness does not factor into this as they are at their mercy. If you fix that by giving them the possibility to take their money elsewhere, insurers are incentivized to behave a bit better. Likewise, hospitals will want to make sure they attract patients from good insurers so they keep their revenue coming in.
- foxyv 8y agoUS is weird, you are usually stuck with whatever insurance your employer provides. If you try to buy your own we're talking $500 a month with a $3000 deductible. If your insurer doesn't cover a hospital there is no way you want to end up there. Down that path lies bankruptcy because the hospital will try to charge your insurer an arbitrary large amount who will then just hand it to you and go "Good Luck!" One time my family was charged $1000 for an ibuprofen for a perforated eardrum at an emergency room. We never even saw a doctor because we waited 7 hours and left. It was faster to get an appointment at our personal doctor the next morning. I can't imagine what it would have cost for a severe problem like a car accident...
- lostgame 8y ago>> One time my family was charged $1000 for an ibuprofen for a perforated eardrum at an emergency room This kind of maddening injustice is why I left the USA after living there for 3 years, and will likely never return even to visit.
- bluGill 8y agoAs a potential future patient you think about the quality of care when you shop for insurance. An insurance plan that can show you get better care when you need it for only $[small]/month is something you will consider taking, particularity if "know someone" (including a random person on the internet) who got bad service and regretted it. Of course if you are in the US you cannot shop for insurance, the law ensures that you take whatever your employer offers.