The folks who invented the credit score for lenders are hard at work developing a similar tool for hospitals and other health care providers.
The project, dubbed “MedFICO” in some early press reports, will aid hospitals in assessing a patient’s ability to pay their medical bills. But privacy advocates are worried that the notorious errors that have caused frequent criticism of the credit system will also cause trouble with any attempt to create a health-related risk score. They also fear that a low score might impact the quality of the health care that patients receive.
When I had no health insurance and went to facilities with checkbook in hand, it didn't impact the quality of care I received, so I don't see much difference. Just another way to humiliate and degrade people as far as I'm concerned. It didn't take someone long to explain to me that since I was a cash on the barrelhead customer that I was being charged the "going" rate, several times what the insured were being charged. I told her to bring it on. I wouldn't be there at all if it wasn't absolutely necessary. And I left as soon as my little feet could carry me, wobbling all the way, probably from the weight change in my checkbook.
Specializes in Happily semi-retired; excited for the whole whammy.
What?
Since this is not a piece of legislation, I'm not sure how it would be impacted by the upcoming elections.
The free market economy would probably be a better approach to "killing" this idea. Write letters to healthcare providers in your area informing them that you will not utilize their services if they adopt this practice. Contact your insurance company and ask them to remove any providers from their network who check patient's credit scores. Write letters to the editor of your paper, and call in to local talk shows sharing your opinion of this practice.
Government and legislation are not always the answer.
There are legislators who would vote for legislation banning this practice and those that will not, and we all have a pretty good idea of who's who.
Those of us who have our healthcare coverage provided through work have no leverage against plans that support this practice. I'm not going to pull my business from my plan and they bloody well know it.
Next thing people will be expected to pay for groceries, tires, and other items they go an purchase every day!! Oh, wait they already are. I would just love to see the expressions on people's faces if the hospital took away 1/3 of your paycheck and said it was going to pay for the people who don't pay their bills. You would be furious, but for some reason you expect medical providers to just suck it up.
You should realize that this MSNBC piece is great free advertising for the Fair Isaac Corporation, which developed the FICO credit scoring system and has successfully marketed it to become a standard language for the entire consumer finance industry. As Fair Isaac does what any business does - look to expand its market - it is now developing a new product with a new target market - "MedFICO" aimed at the health care industry. It's a shrewd move. Health care is expensive and is increasingly financed by individual consumers as health insurers continually reduce reimbursements and coverages.
This is not a new concept. Cosmetic surgeons and other providers of elective services not covered by insurance set up financing arrangements with their customers, and you can be sure that they apply the same principles of managing risk that MedFICO purports to provide. Health care providers can access $5.00 credit reports and say yes or no, just like the car dealership or furniture store.
This is a complex problem. Hospitals and other health care organizations are not inherently evil just because at the end of the day they expect to be paid for the services they provide, and the reality is that they are not well reimbursed by mainstream insurance companies, let alone individual payors with good intentions. I'm not arguing with traumaRus ... but the bottom line is that her practice must work to maintain the right mix of patients with the right mix of payment sources in order to be able to continue to see patients without regard to ability to pay. Costs, particularly in the areas of technology & human resources continue to increase. Common sense and simple arithmetic demonstrate that if costs continue to increase, a hospital or other provider will need to be more aggressive about collections.
Specializes in Happily semi-retired; excited for the whole whammy.
Wow,
Next thing people will be expected to pay for groceries, tires, and other items they go an purchase every day!! Oh, wait they already are. I would just love to see the expressions on people's faces if the hospital took away 1/3 of your paycheck and said it was going to pay for the people who don't pay their bills. You would be furious, but for some reason you expect medical providers to just suck it up.
The last time I was at the supermarket, they didn't ask to see my credit report.
Specializes in Happily semi-retired; excited for the whole whammy.
You also didn't leave the store without paying upfront for your groceries. That rarely happens with healthcare.
...which is why it wasn't an apt analogy in the first place.
This thread isn't about whether providers deserve to be paid. Of course they do. And they do have courses of redress, as ineffective as they often are, to go after people who don't pay their bills. They shouldn't also have access to my credit history when a) legally and ethically they're required to provide me with emergency care and b) they already can ask for payment upfront for non-emergency care. Every doctor's office I've visited for myself or my son in the past 20 years has made copies of my insurance card and collected their co-pay before they've seen us. Why should they be allowed to access my credit score on top of that?
Under HR 676, a family of three making $40,000 per year would spend approximately $1600 per year for health care coverage.
It would be a payroll deduction like medicare.
Or payable similar to income tax for thosewhose income is from investments.
All people with an income would pay in.
Then when they or their children are sick or injured they will be cared for as needed.
__________________
1/3 of your paycheck
?? Where did you come up with that figure? I think Spacenurse's estitmate on the yearly cost is probably more accurate. Posted on Mandatory Health Insurance thread.
This thread isn't about whether providers deserve to be paid. Of course they do. And they do have courses of redress, as ineffective as they often are, to go after people who don't pay their bills. They shouldn't also have access to my credit history when a) legally and ethically they're required to provide me with emergency care and b) they already can ask for payment upfront for non-emergency care. Every doctor's office I've visited for myself or my son in the past 20 years has made copies of my insurance card and collected their co-pay before they've seen us. Why should they be allowed to access my credit score on top of that?
If you dont like it, then tell them up front that you are going somewhere else.
Do you check your credit report every 6 months to see who has checked into it? You'd be shocked. Its common practice to go behind your back to get your credit report.
I'm an APN and I see this frequently. I tried to make an appt for one of my patients this week for a GI MD. However, she had an outstanding bill and was required to pay $$60 up front before they would see her. I ended up talking with the administrator of the practice and asked her point blank was she refusing to see a pt who had an immediate need? She asked me in a very nasty voice, "Do YOU see pts that can't pay?" I told her yes, that our practice did see pts w/o regard to ability to pay. She then practically spit out the words that I was a "CLINICAL" person and had no knowledge of the "BUSINESS" end of things.
Disgusting.
Sorry I agree with the GI practice here. Why should any doctor be FORCED to take any patient? The only time docs should be forced to care for patients is when its an emergency situation, and they have ERs for that.
Outpatient GI practice is NOT emergency, therefore they can see anybody they want. If you dont like it, tell them that you are sending all your patients to a different GI practice. Simple as that.
Copying your card and collecting a co-pay are not guarantees of being fully paid for services rendered. Having a card in one's wallet is not an indication of an active insurance policy, and even a $25+ copay amounts to a fraction of the cost of most office visits. Perhaps this is a good argument for doing away with 3rd party payors and making individuals fully and directly responsible for payment of healthcare expenses. (Which they ultimately are, anyway.)
If you don't want a provider to access your credit score, then don't utilize offices that do so. I wonder if it might prove to be an advantage for those with excellent credit histories. Maybe providers will be willing to discount services for those who have a track record of paying bills promptly.
Do you object as strongly to furniture stores, auto dealers and even Blockbuster having access to your financial information?
Simplepleasures
1,355 Posts
All the more reason to have UHC.