Healthcare

No, don't run away screaming.  This has nothing to do with ObamaCare or whatever is going on in congress.  I was just looking at the medical procedures that have been billed to my insurance this year.

So far this year, my insurance has been billed more than $6700.  Wow.  This will almost double when the bill for my lithotripsy finally comes in.  Double wow.  So far, between us and the insurance, we've paid just over $3800.  This is the "contracted rate."  The difference between the two is around $2900.  This is how much we have "saved" by being insured, just in what was billed.  The average "contracted rate" is around 57% of the billed rate.

But is any of this really "savings?"  Medical providers know that they won't get the amount they bill to insurance companies.  I'm SURE they take this into account when they decide how much to bill for any given procedure or consultation.  Without such contracted rates, would the amount billed actually come down?  Maybe this is a chicken-and-egg problem.  Which came first, the high bills or the contracted rates?

All I know for sure is that I'm grateful for health insurance.  VERY grateful.