The Penalty for not Having Insurance Exists NOW!
One of the major complaints of those against the new healthcare reform is people will be penalized for not buying insurance. The penalty would occur when filing taxes. This is the case in Massachusetts. Every year the insurance company sends a form verifying coverage. Some people choose to pay the penalty because it is less than paying monthly premiums. But the penalty already exists for the uninsured when hospitalized or an emergency occurs.
I recently had a client in a rural western state with no insurance. She had an accident and was hospitalized for one night and needed surgery for a bone fracture. The bill was $17,000. Her monthly income was slightly above the federal poverty level. She had recently inherited a small sum of money which she planned to put into a retirement fund. She filled out the financial aid forms. These forms were then reviewed by a committee which included the CFO,CEO and Board Chair, hospital billing person and social worker. It was decided she would only be given the standard 20% because she had received the inheritance. I've worked with many hospitals big and small who generally reduce much more or 100% with people who have greater assets and are well above the poverty level.
The bottom line is, if my client had insurance, the reimbursement would have been around $4-5,000. This would have satisfied the hospital. People without insurance are being penalized for being uninsured by having to pay full bills. This hospital is asking my client to sell off part of her inheritance to pay them four times the amount an insurance company would pay. Next stop if she can't pay, collections. There is something wrong with this picture. As much as I don't like a penalty fee, it will always be much less than a catastrophic medical event and subsequent bill.
Posted by HealthCare Whisperer at 5/27/2010 10:54 AM 
Categories: insurance, healthcare reform, uninsured
Tags: medical bill insurance healthcare reform uninsured
Categories: insurance, healthcare reform, uninsured
Tags: medical bill insurance healthcare reform uninsured
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