Do those ♡bamaCare!!! rate hikes have you down in the dumps? Look at the bright side, buckaroo — they make a lovely companion to those increased out-of-pocket expenses:
After he left the hospital, the Paducah, Ky., businessman paid $2,000 more, the rest of his insurance deductible. “Luckily, I could take out a credit card and pay. A lot of people can’t,” Edwards said.
His experience, being asked to pay a sum upfront for surgery, has become increasingly common as doctors’ practices and hospitals navigate the world of employer-provided high-deductible health plans and the launch of the federal Affordable Care Act.
Hospital executives say they’re struggling to keep their mountains of bad debt in check when patients frequently can’t pay the share required under insurance plans for non-emergency tests, procedures and services.
“The bad debts are just going through the roof. That’s been a trend,” said Nancy Galvagni, senior vice president of the Kentucky Hospital Association, an industry trade and advocacy group that represents the state’s hospitals and health systems.
Cadillac prices for catastrophic coverage is not what most people imagined when they were promised that they and their family would save $2,500 a year.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member