I've been in the healthcare insurance industry for the better part of a decade. I've seen before and after the Affordable Care Act and the years it took to comply, adapt and really see the industry as a whole become the spotlight of politics and media.
The purpose of these posts would be to educate on both the basics of today's health insurance such as co-payments, deductibles, in-network, out of network benefits and later discuss the more complicated parts like contracted rates, out of pocket maximums, timely filing limits, reasonable and customary amounts and balance billing. With healthcare being one of the 'hot topics" in both the presidential landscape and in some states I really, really want the general public to better understand how the current system works so if your Representatives, Senators or state legislatures propose a solution to the current system you'll be able to make an informed decision on whether or not it is good for you, good for the public or fundamentally flawed without relying on ads and lobbyists trying to swoon you one way or the other. My goal is not to influence one way or the other on any suggested plan/legislation but to merely educate about the core components of all health insurance plans so you know what questions to ask your legislatures to understand how they will affect you for better or worse.
My second purpose is to arm our customers with the knowledge they need to protect themselves from fraud and over payments for services they receive. There is a general perception in society that health care is overly expensive, unaffordable and you can expect to either be bankrupt or paying off the debts for the rest of your life. Combined with this perception, our society also has the understandable mindset that they went to the doctor on a specific day and when they get the bill whatever it says is what you will have to pay without question because you went to the doctor so you have to pay something. Even when the bill you get is obviously incorrect or way above what it should be.
The most memorable moment that has almost solely fueled my desire to make this educational series was a friend of mine had their very first child. Such a happy occasion for a new mom and pop... except when they got the bill from the hospital about a month down the road. Defeated, they posted a picture on Facebook with the amount: $60,000. Due by end of month. The caption: I'm not sure how we're going to ever be able to pay this off...
I asked the simplest question first... "Do you have insurance?" The answer was yes and I immediately knew that it was wrong and helped them get it sorted out. They actually owed nothing or a fraction of that amount. It completely stunned me that they had insurance and didn't even think that the amount was wrong or at least suspicious... but it went back to our uninformed general perception: hospitals are expensive, babies are expensive, pregnancies are expensive... We must owe this.
Nobody should ever feel regret or depression from having a child because of bills like the above- and just a little bit of knowledge can go a long way to knowing when there is some kind of mistake.
Please tell me what you think, or ask some questions so I can line up a few post topics!
Edit: New to steemit and trying to figure out good image hosting :) Please bare with me while I do a few related edits.
Edit 2: Got the images figured out! I'm very excited to see the interest in the subject by your votes but please leave a comment with your questions or where you feel a general lack of understanding is with our healthcare system so I can frame the content of the first few posts.