1. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Tue, Nov 04, 2008, 1:32 pm PST

Visits to hospital-based doctors offices (like at Johns Hopkins, as of 10/01/2008) now require two separate payments - 1 to the provider and 1 to to the hospital for the use of the office itself. For many plans, including my own, this has resulted in two co-payments due for a single visit (one for the provider and one for the hospital) - This is leading me to look for privately-based physicians. I cannot afford two co-payments for each visit. Perhaps this is the point - the insurance company makes more money the less I use the plan. But, restricting choice may lead to worse healthcare overall.

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2. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Thu, Nov 06, 2008, 8:18 am PST

Regarding comment number one, my local hospital (Sparks Medical Center, Ft. Smith, AR) has recently begun double billing my Medicare PFFS plan for my physician's office charges. They are calling it a "facility fee," but they charge their fee for each service the physician performs in his office. Example: for my last physician's visit for the freezing of three lesions and an INR lab test, the hospital billed a total of $595.00 in addition to the physician's charges. It was listed on my EOB as "Outpatient Surgery," although I never set foot in their hospital.

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3. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Mon, Nov 10, 2008, 4:44 am PST

The most important questions needing to be asked is are my providers, ie. both physicians and hospitals, participating providers. If you assume either case and get treated, you can be held responsible for the full charge by the providers, not just the copayment.

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4. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Thu, Feb 12, 2009, 2:45 pm PST

A good source I found while shopping for a Medicare Supplement Insurance policy is: www.lowcostmedigap.com

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5. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Thu, Feb 12, 2009, 2:45 pm PST

A good source I found while shopping for a Medicare Supplement Insurance policy is: www.lowcostmedigap.com

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6. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Thu, Feb 12, 2009, 2:45 pm PST

A good source I found while shopping for a Medicare Supplement Insurance policy is: www.lowcostmedigap.com

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7. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Thu, Feb 12, 2009, 2:58 pm PST

A good source I found while shopping for a Medicare Supplement Insurance policy is: www.lowcostmedigap.com

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8. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Thu, Apr 30, 2009, 4:03 pm PDT

What is the percent of health cost to income in 2009? What was the percent health cost to income in 1965?

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