Every business is required to tell a consumer what a service or product will cost before the consumer is required to pay for it --every business except hospitals, doctors, and providers of health insurance. It is time to let health care consumers know what a product or service will cost before they commit to surgery, tests, and procedures.
Why is this important?
It is time for insurance companies to do what they are supposed to do--insure for unexpected health care costs and pay for them. Affordable care needs to mean that a consumer of health care can know for certain what a test, procedure, hospital stay, or surgery will cost, before committing to pay. I have had the experience of being told that a procedure was authorized and covered by my health insurance, only to get a bill for a doctor who wandered in to consult who was out of my network, but I had to pay. Everyone I know has had this experience. It is time to put the onus on health insurance companies to keep services in network and tell consumers what the bill will be before the charges are incurred.
