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My father is close friends with someone who runs a large hospital in Texas -- he told us that it is quite routine to overbill, and that they allow for up to 5%
by ada1981 13y ago
My father is close friends with someone who runs a large hospital in Texas -- he told us that it is quite routine to overbill, and that they allow for up to 5% over billing. It's a line item in their balance sheet and they actually rely in this as a predictable revenue source.
For an industry of people who have had to spend over a decade jumping through academic hoops, and whose job seems to require a great deal of precision, it is unbelievable they lack competence in something most high school drop outs master McDonalds - namely, standardized pricing and itemized billing (not to mention customer service).
- neilsharma 13y agoWow, I always figured that many hospitals would overbill because they could get away with it, though I'd imagine many would go much past 5%. I don't think it's incompetence that makes pricing variable; rather, its lack of accountability. It's hard to find out where the price tag comes from, so why not charge as much as you think you could get from each patient? If you ask your doctor for an itemized breakdown of your bill, they (may eventually) give it to. The prices are often exorbitant and arbitrary.