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And the really crazy and stupid thing is why are we burdening our doctors with knowing whether someone's insurance plan covers their services? Doctors ought to

by jrs235 7y ago

And the really crazy and stupid thing is why are we burdening our doctors with knowing whether someone's insurance plan covers their services? Doctors ought to focus their time and talent on treating people and illnesses, not trying to calculate bills for patients.

leetcrew 7y ago
on its face, I don't think this is as crazy as you make it seem. it's just that the complexities of medical billing has become too much for the doctor to understand and convey to the patient. can you think of any other role where a professional interfacing directly with customers wouldn't be expected to at least estimate how much the service will cost them?
- jrs235 7y ago
  I think I understand your point. However, a car body shop can estimate how much it will cost to fix up my vehicle after a collision with a deer. Those professionals can provide an estimate based on the amount of effort and materials they believe are required. But they don't sit there and try and tell me how much my insurance will pay and how much I will have to pay out of pocket or if my insurance will cover any of the bill. Obviously in the situation above, time isn't of the essence as much as it might potentially be for a medical issue. Knowing the "hourly" rates and what treatments may be needed can allow a doctor to estimate the total cost range from a low end to the high end (might be $200 for simple diagnostic and we find nothing more to treat to $2,000,000 if as we progress done the rabbit trail we find evidence that leads up to more tests and it turns out to be cancer). Medical issues are like software development. You don't know what you don't know so God only knows how much effort (cost) will be involved. We can give estimates but the doctor and the software developer shouldn't be trying to figure out if the work involved is covered by external requirements (what and how much will medical insurance cover or does this development qualify for some tax credit or is considered sufficient to fall under some contractual constraint/requirement higher up). Should we expect software developers to know and understand tax laws? Should we expect doctors to know everyone's insurance plans and coverages?
  - leetcrew 7y ago
    that's a good point. I guess healthcare has a uniquely complex interplay between insurance payout and actual billed cost (eg, your car insurance does not negotiate with the mechanic for you). I'll rephrase my statement. medical insurance/billing is too complicated to reasonably expect a doctor or patient to fully understand. this being the case, there should be someone working at the hospital/practice whose job it is to actually understand this shit and give me an estimate at each step of the process. doesn't really fix the underlying problem, but at least then I could make an educated choice between receiving care and being able to afford retirement.

by jrs235 7y ago

leetcrew 7y ago

on its face, I don't think this is as crazy as you make it seem. it's just that the complexities of medical billing has become too much for the doctor to understand and convey to the patient. can you think of any other role where a professional interfacing directly with customers wouldn't be expected to at least estimate how much the service will cost them?

jrs235 7y ago
I think I understand your point. However, a car body shop can estimate how much it will cost to fix up my vehicle after a collision with a deer. Those professionals can provide an estimate based on the amount of effort and materials they believe are required. But they don't sit there and try and tell me how much my insurance will pay and how much I will have to pay out of pocket or if my insurance will cover any of the bill. Obviously in the situation above, time isn't of the essence as much as it might potentially be for a medical issue. Knowing the "hourly" rates and what treatments may be needed can allow a doctor to estimate the total cost range from a low end to the high end (might be $200 for simple diagnostic and we find nothing more to treat to $2,000,000 if as we progress done the rabbit trail we find evidence that leads up to more tests and it turns out to be cancer). Medical issues are like software development. You don't know what you don't know so God only knows how much effort (cost) will be involved. We can give estimates but the doctor and the software developer shouldn't be trying to figure out if the work involved is covered by external requirements (what and how much will medical insurance cover or does this development qualify for some tax credit or is considered sufficient to fall under some contractual constraint/requirement higher up). Should we expect software developers to know and understand tax laws? Should we expect doctors to know everyone's insurance plans and coverages?
- leetcrew 7y ago
  that's a good point. I guess healthcare has a uniquely complex interplay between insurance payout and actual billed cost (eg, your car insurance does not negotiate with the mechanic for you). I'll rephrase my statement. medical insurance/billing is too complicated to reasonably expect a doctor or patient to fully understand. this being the case, there should be someone working at the hospital/practice whose job it is to actually understand this shit and give me an estimate at each step of the process. doesn't really fix the underlying problem, but at least then I could make an educated choice between receiving care and being able to afford retirement.