Summary
- The US primarily has a private healthcare system, where people can purchase services from any provider they choose.
- Healthcare services are paid for in an unpredictable manner, with surprise bills and coinsurance often leaving Americans struggling with medical debt.
- The No Surprises Act of 2020 has made this process even more cumbersome for healthcare providers, resulting in higher costs for the consumer.
Overview of the American Healthcare System
In the United States, we primarily have a private healthcare system. If you have the money, you can purchase healthcare services from any service provider you like. But the problem in America isn’t a lack of healthcare providers; it is how healthcare services are paid for. When you see your doctor, you don’t know how much you will spend. Can you think of any other service for which you don’t know how much you will spend before your visit?
Paying for Healthcare Services
When you arrive at the doctor’s office, you typically hand over your health insurance card and pay a copay. Most people don’t understand what a copay or coinsurance is or how it functions. After services are rendered, your doctor’s office will send a claim to your health insurance company to be paid out. Once the claim has been paid out, usually months later, there may be a balance that must be paid by the patient. This leaves many people struggling with medical debt that wasn’t budgeted for and raises prices on consumers due to lost revenue from unpaid bills.
The No Surprises Act
The government passed the No Surprises Act last year, making receiving payments even more cumbersome for healthcare providers. The act requires third parties to pay medical bills instead of allowing patients to pay directly at time of service which adds an unnecessary layer between patients and doctors offices as well as makes it difficult to find qualified staff to process payments quickly and efficiently.
Medical Debt in 2021
In 2021 20% of Americans had medical debt and 58% of bills in collections were attributed to medical debt. This high amount of medical debt leads not only leads to financial strain but also affects healthcare providers who rely on their patients paying their bill in full or risk raising prices on consumers due to lost revenue from unpaid bills.< h2 > Conclusion Having access to proper health care when needed is essential but unfortunately our current system leaves many Americans struggling financially with unpredicted costs and higher prices due too lost revenue from unpaid bills. To ensure everyone can access quality health care without compromising their financial security changes must be made within our current system or through implementing new policies entirely