I've recently been going through this process learning how terrible our medical billing system is in America Here's some examples... 1. You might go for a sur

I've recently been going through this process learning how terrible our medical billing system is in America Here's some examples... 1. You might go for a surgery. You'll get a bill from the anesthetist, doctor, and the facility. The anethestist might not be in your network, so insurance doesn't cover it. Not only that, all three places can bill whatever they want, multiple times even. 2. You go to the specialist doctor for a visit. I recently went to two different ENTs just for a nasal checkup. One billed a claim for $1000 just to inspect my nose on a first time visit and billed it as a "surgery" procedure code. To be fair I signed a waiver stating I would pay things outside of insurance, that's just because I don't know any better and scheduling doctors appointments take forever. Insurance covered a small portion of it, hospital reduced it a bit, but now I have to pay $250 on top of a $60 normal pay for visiting (copay) So basically, I have to pay $300 for visiting a doctor, for a basic checkup. I expected to pay $60 with my insurance. AFAIK, in other countries, there's just a catalog of prices of how much everything costs. The doctor tells you how much things cost up front, you agree and pay for it. That's how things should work Here in America, we artifically mark up everything by a huge amount, and insurance pays a portion of it, depending on your setup. You pay the rest of that inflated amount past a certain amount in your insurance coverage. You can negotiate rates after the fact, but the hospital networks can just say no. You have to pay it anyways. Basically you're always in financial jeopardy when you go to the hospital. The people profiting are all in the medical industry. The end user (you) is always screwed over. If you want to fight a bill, you call the insurance company, they'll tell you to call the doctor. The doctor will tell you to call the insurance company. Either that they'll say they will try and renegotiate terms in 10 days, which at this point you'll probably get tired of fighting it and pay up anyways. Its pretty much a waste of time. Health insurance does provide a financial net, but only to a degree. My out of pocket max I might have to put out in a year is $10k. The average out-of-cost payment after insurance might be $2k, so I might expect to pay $2k out of pocket. But the hospital can bill whatever I want, so I might be out $10k in cash now. I have no control over how much I will be billed for, even though I know how much things generally get billed for. The analogy is like going to a restaurant. You order a burger. You don't get to see the menu prices, but the waiter tells you its $10. You get a check for $50. You don't understand why but you have to pay it anyways. That's the medical system here in the states.