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Most private health insurance in the US is provided by employers. Thus, the people paying for the services are not the patients but insurance companies, and the
by anateus 13y ago
Most private health insurance in the US is provided by employers. Thus, the people paying for the services are not the patients but insurance companies, and the insurance companies are selected by employers not the patients.
- DanBC 13y agoBut that says nothing about why insurance companies are not pushing prices down. They get paid by employers, but they'd make more profit if the health care they buy is cheaper. Since I regularly hear that prices are cheaper if you negotiate with the doctors it seems that insurance companies are not doing that negotiation. So, given that they appear to be losing out on some profit, why? Why aren't they pushing the costs down?
- refurb 13y agoThey are pushing costs down. That's why when you get a bill from your insurance and it says "Procedure X - $5000" followed by "Negotiated rate - $1000 accepted". Insurance companies figure out what stuff should actually cost, then enter into contracts with providers that says "Hey I know you're still making a decent profit if I only pay you $100 instead of $150, so take $100 and you'll make it up on volume when you become one of my preferred providers."