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> These prices are <25% of the insurance "discount" prices There are some clever insurance companies whose entire model is "tell the hospital you don't have in
by mullingitover 5y ago
> These prices are <25% of the insurance "discount" prices
There are some clever insurance companies whose entire model is "tell the hospital you don't have insurance, get the cash price, pay it with this debit card we give you."
- derwiki 5y agoIs it illegal to state you don’t have insurance when you do? Or is this product not considered Insurance in the legal sense?
- scohesc 5y agoThey could be running as a "health spending account" where you can spend the money on whatever you want provided it's health-related. You don't technically have "insurance" but you're insured.
- travoc 5y agoHealth care consumers are absolutely free to pay providers directly even if they carry insurance coverage.
- toomuchtodo 5y agoIt's not insurance. They're "fixed indemnity plans." Sidecar Health is the one I'm familiar with. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/usc-brookings-schaeffer-on-health-policy/2020/08/04/fixed-indemnity-health-coverage-is-a-problematic-form-of-junk-insurance/ https://www.brookings.edu/blog/usc-brookings-schaeffer-on-he... (Fixed indemnity health coverage is a problematic form of “junk insurance”)
- Y_Y 5y agoI do this. Once my insurance company got upset that my procedure was so expensive and rang the hospital. The hospital immediately tripled the price. The insurance became even more upset and asked me to fix it. Still much cheaper than the equivalent procedure in the USA. It's not illegal here, but in any case nobody asks, I just tell them I'm paying cash.
- mullingitover 5y agoI don't think it is. Sidecar Health is doing just fine on this model[1] It's pretty perverse that you, an insured person, would have to lie about having insurance because the provider would charge you more for being insured. [1] https://cost.sidecarhealth.com https://cost.sidecarhealth.com
- stonemetal12 5y agoThe same goes for pharmacies. Walmart advertises $4 generics. If your insurance has a $25 drug co-pay, then they will charge you the full $25.
- rpmisms 5y agoNot technically "insurance", these are cost-sharing companies. Often religious due to Obama's brilliance.
- loeg 5y agoThey are required to have some shared religious belief to be exempt from the ACA.
- lotsofpulp 5y agoIs there evidence that Obama wanted those religious exemptions and bullshit cost sharing plans? I would be willing to bet that was a concession to other politicians in Congress in order to get ACA passed.
- rpmisms 5y agoI'm thankful the concession was made. The lower price of cost-sharing made it possible for my parents to keep eating while providing for the family.
- rconti 5y agoThat's great until the church decides your parents are sinners and refuse to cover anything, and have no consequences for stealing their money.
- rpmisms 5y agoThey're not church-run organizations. This is reductionist, inaccurate, and I would go so far as to say bigoted.
- rconti 5y agoYou're welcome to think that about me, but health sharing is almost entirely scams using "religion" as a cover. See my other link in this thread. I'm happy for your family that they got a good one.
- loeg 5y agoYou’re probably thinking of “healthcare ministries,” which are not insurance (they’re scams).
- hartleybrody 5y ago> (they’re scams). citation or story?
- rconti 5y agoHere's a good start. https://openargs.com/oa497-christian-health-sharing-is-a-scam/ https://openargs.com/oa497-christian-health-sharing-is-a-sca...
- good8675309 5y agoI think instead of using a blanket statement and calling them all scams, the OP should have said that some are scams. That goes for pretty much any service out there. Here's a site with over 900 reviews of different health sharing communities. Some there are clearly scams by the terrible reviews. https://healthsharingreviews.com/ https://healthsharingreviews.com/
- loeg 5y ago> some [healthcare ministries] are scams. That goes for pretty much any service out there. Not really? Which of the highly regulated healthcare insurers do you feel are scams?
- 0xcde4c3db 5y agohttps://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/lauraturner/christian-health-care https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/lauraturner/christian-h... They're not inherently scams, but a major reason that the "premiums" are lower is that they have hardly any legal mandate to actually provide anything, which comes as a surprise to some members who are denied reimbursement. Their authority to deny "coverage" (scare quotes because that's not, technically, what they provide) is huge. In particular, HCSMs frequently deny reimbursement on the basis of conservative religious morality. Got an STD while unmarried, or cheating on your spouse, or just in an open marriage? You can't ask your good Christian neighbors to pay for that. Drug addiction or mental illness? The cure is more Jesus. Abortion? Not even to save your life. You get the idea.
- michael_j_ward 5y agoPlease provide an example or two.