Do hospitals raise costs for insured people?

No, they don't raise costs for insured people. In fact, insurance companies usually have a negotiated rate that's lower than what the hospital initially charges.

ER visits have skyrocketed in cost in the last few years. It used to be that you might pay several hundred dollars for a simple visit that doesn't require much more than a prescription and a referral, but now they can cost over $2,000. The reason for this is that hospitals are starting to contract physicians instead of hiring them outright. So the doctor bills you and the hospital bills you separately. The hospital might charge more than $2,000 just for using their facilities, no matter how simple and no matter how short.

A little story about my recent experience: My wife had some terrible pain in her arms from pinched nerves or something. We went to the ER to get it checked out because it was unbearable for her and it was a Friday. We were there about 30 minutes total. The doctor diagnosed pinched nerves, gave her a prescription and a referral, and we were on our way.

Imagine my surprise to find out my bill was about $2,300. The doctor charged $300, which I thought was reasonable. But the hospital charged a $2,000 "facility fee" just for walking in the door essentially. My insurance company negotiated that down to $1,600, but it still wiped out my HRA.

Healthcare costs are as confusing as they are corrupt, in my opinion.

I work in health insurance. from what I can tell, it's all billed the same way. Keep in mind, they bill for anything they can basically. That means the initial ER visit.. any pills, injections, etc are separate charges. If it came to x-rays, they would charge for both the equipment being used and then the doctor that reads the xray gets to file a charge also, etc. Anyways. The bills are enormous. Part of the reason theres so much trouble with this issue. At the end of the day though, the hospital will not see much payment from someone without insurance. For one.. if you can't afford insurance int he first place...you are not as likely to pay your bill. So that keeps the rates up. They almost always make deals with people without insurance also, they pay a small percentage. In reality, the actual charges the insurance company pays is also a lot less then what they bill. It's because they have a contract to pay a certain amount.

I see million dollar claims daily where I work

Insurance companies normally negotiate a discount with the medical networks they use. But hospitals are trying to discourage people from going to ER when not necessary by charging appropriately high fees. So if it was not an emergency it would have cost much less to make a doctor appointment or go to an Urgent Care facility, instead of the Emergency Room.

But yes, medical costs and insurance costs have gone up more than inflation, partly because of new taxes on medical supplies and investments as part of Obama's so called Affordable Healthcare Act and required coverage for things that would never affect you.

no, they don't raise costs for insured people... in fact, insurance companies usually have a negotiated rate that's lower than what the hospital initially charges...

er visits have skyrocketed in cost in the last few years... it used to be that you might pay several hundred dollars for a simple visit that doesn't require much more than a prescription and a referral, but now they can cost over $2,000... the reason for this is that hospitals are starting to contract physicians instead of hiring them outright... so the doctor bills you and the hospital bills you separately... the hospital might charge more than $2,000 just for using their facilities, no matter how simple and no matter how short...

a little story about my recent experience: my wife had some terrible pain in her arms from pinched nerves or something... we went to the er to get it checked out 'cause it was unbearable for her and it was a friday... we were there about 30 minutes total... the doctor diagnosed pinched nerves, gave her a prescription and a referral, and we were on our way...

imagine my surprise to find out my bill was about $2,300... the doctor charged $300, which i thought was reasonable... but the hospital charged a $2,000 "facility fee" just for walking in the door essentially... my insurance company negotiated that down to $1,600, but it still wiped out my hra...

healthcare costs are as confusing as they are corrupt, in my opinion...

They offer a discount to people who don't have insurance. Their regular prices are for people who do. If the bill is $2000.00 insurance will normally pay their part & make the hospital write off the balance which is why they have to bill higher for people with insurance.

Not exactly. They don't have set rates - they can charge different people different amounts. They have different rates that they charge each insurance company, to "maximize" the payout from each insurance company for each procedure. That's because, hey, with the insurance company paying, the people buying the service flat out don't care how much it costs.

Your co-pay is something agreed upon between you and you insurance company depending on your insurance plan. What the hospital bills for an ER visit has nothing to do with the amount of your co-pay. Again, your co-pay has already been agreed upon between you and the insurance company, your insurance company pays the rest of whatever amount the hospital bills.

YES! The amount billed to insurance has no relation to the amount the hospital has contracted to accept from the insurance company. People who come in and offer to pay cash for a procedure are often given a sizable discount. People without insurance or cash are billed for the entire amount and their credit is ruined.

great question, they do account for the costs that are no covered by all the patients that they have to treat for free. Which means that those of us that have insurance or Don't but pay our bills are covering the costs for all those people that DO NOT pay their bills.

In my experience, they give non-insurance people grant money and insurance people get charged the full price. In other words, they are the same price for both (they have to - legal issue if not) but they find ways to give the non-insured discounts through government grant programs (hence the push for medicaid in obamacare).