Fill out this form to email this article to a friend
Guest Column
As co-payments rise, so do tempers
By BILL COLEMAN
Published November 7, 2007
Think you are being ripped off by your medical insurance company? Why can Wal-Mart or Target sell a generic drug for $4, yet your prescription co-payment is $10 or $15? Why is your co-payment to see a specialist $60 or $80? If you were a "self-pay," would you pay less? Can you negotiate with your provider if you pay in cash and not use your insurance card? You bet you can. Doctors would rather collect the greenbacks now than have to wait and fight the insurance company for a reduced payment. Can you figure out what the real cost of medical care is? Why do providers bill the insurance company $1,000 for a procedure, then accept $150 for payment in full? This medical billing situation is harder to figure out than the IRS tax code. Think there's a purpose behind the madness? Why does the state's Department of Insurance allow health organizations and associations to market and sell health plans in Florida when they don't have to abide by Florida insurance laws and regulations? This has been going on for years. Try to file a complaint and get help from our Department of Insurance if the health association is home-based outside of Florida. Be wary of companies incorporated in Texas. Why do they make you pay an association fee? What does that have to do with your health care? This is a preview of things to come. Do you really have a benefit when your co-payments are more than the cost of the service? Do we really need all the "enhancements" such as 24-hour mental health lines, nurse lines, legal defense plans and enrollment in gyms? Premiums are increasing, our out of pocket costs are increasing, our deductibles are increasing and benefits are decreasing. When will it all end? I predict we will have national health insurance for basic medical services with optional buy-ups for added benefits and options. The delivery system is already in place through Medicare. We've allowed it to become the Frankenstein it is. It's now time for a complete physical exam and cleansing of the colon. Bill Coleman is a Dunedin resident and owner of Coleman Insurance Services. He can be contacted at WJColeman@aol.com
[Last modified November 6, 2007, 20:19:37]
Share your thoughts on this story
Comments on this article
|
by cathy
|
11/07/07 08:21 AM
|
|
this whole system needs to be revamped. The sooner the lawmakers in this country realize that the insurance companies are making the rules the better.Once again. large coporation rules in America, not the citizens
|
|
News
Fifty years ago, they were screwed-up kids sent to the Florida School for Boys to be straightened out. But now they are screwed-up men, scarred by the whippings they endured. Read the story and see a video and portrait gallery.
Print
Email story
Comment
Letter to the editor
