By Deborah Cho
With the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, many consumers can now (or eventually…) head to HealthCare.gov to compare health insurance plans to find one that fits their needs. Health insurance plans, however, can be complicated and fraught with exceptions and exclusions that consumers learn of only when it is too late and medical bills have already started to pile up. Consumers are directed to consult member handbooks to learn their plan’s terms and conditions, but these handbooks are often nearly a hundred pages in length and densely packed with information.
Nonetheless, patients are held responsible for understanding and abiding by the terms of their plans, even if those terms are confusing and hard to fully appreciate. For example, patients are expected to know what types of medical care require prior authorization from their insurance carriers and that they must obtain approval before receiving that care. If these steps are not taken in the correct order, payment can be denied and the patient may be left to foot the bill for the services. Similarly, patients must understand that their policies may fully cover only in-network providers and must additionally know who is in-network and who is not. Because the member handbook and/or benefits document allegedly provide adequate notice, the patient is out of luck if he is not aware of these conditions.
The outcome is similar even when a medical provider or the provider’s staff does something to indicate that the medical care in question is covered by the patient’s insurance plan. This can be as simple as suggesting a specific procedure to help with the patient’s condition or even merely referring the patient to a particular specialist. A patient may accept care on the understandable yet incorrect assumption that an action recommended by his treating physician is automatically covered by his insurance plan. Though providers often verify that costly care will be covered by a patient’s insurance in order to ensure proper compensation, the instances when this does not happen can be financially devastating to patients.
So who should be responsible for knowing the ins and outs of these health insurance policies?
On one hand, providers do not have the resources to know the details of each and every patient’s insurance plan. Yet many patients, particularly those in the midst of personal illness or family tragedy, are not in a position to understand and apply the complex terms of their insurance policies.
Though there seems to be no perfect answer to this issue, I propose a potential solution (or a small step in the right direction) in my next post.
[See Part II here]