price gouging – The Health Care Blog

Health Reform Job One: Stop the Gouging! | Part 3

Jul 26, 2019• 3

By BOB HERTZ

We Need Legal Assaults On The Greediest Providers!

When a patient is hospitalized, or diagnosed with a deadly disease, they often have no choice about the cost of their treatment.

They are legally helpless, and vulnerable to price gouging.

We need more legal protection of patients. In some cases we need price controls.

In the final part of this series, I discuss how we need to empower patients by allowing them to challenge their medical bills in courts.

Assault Phase Four – Binding Arbitration of Medical Bills

We must allow patients to challenge their medical bills in expanded ‘Health courts.’

Patients should be able to contest any bill over $250, especially if they have not given ‘informed financial consent’ to the provider.

Such ‘consent’ would require that if a procedure can be scheduled in advance, it can also be quoted in advance. If the patient requests an estimate, they must be notified in writing at least seven days in advance. This would allow the patient to request a different provider, or to investigate other alternatives. If an estimate is requested but never produced, the patient has no liability. (That will shake up the providers rather quickly.)

Health Reform Job One: Stop the Gouging! | Part 1

Jul 24, 2019

By BOB HERTZ

We Need Legal Assaults On The Greediest Providers!

When a patient is hospitalized, or diagnosed with a deadly disease, they often have no choice about the cost of their treatment.

They are legally helpless, and vulnerable to price gouging.

Medicare offers decent protection — i.e. limits on balance billing, and no patient liability if a claim is denied.

But under age 65, it is a Wild West — especially for emergency care, and drugs and devices. The more they charge, the more they make. Even good health insurance does not offer complete financial insulation.

We need more legal protection of patients. In some cases we need price controls.

‘Charging what the market will bear’ is inadequate, even childish, when ‘the market’ consists of desperate patients. Where contracts are impossible and there is no chance for informed financial consent, government can and should step in.

This series describes the new laws that we need. Very little is required in tax dollars….but we do require a strong will to protect.