The last prescription I had filled by UnitedHealthCare for a medication which I take regularly was for a 90-day supply and it indicated that the insurance company paid $66.06 for that shipment and that my copay was $10.06, for a total cost of $25.27 per month. It was a generic, not name brand.
Today I had a prescription for the same medication filled at my local pharmacy not using my insurance, for reasons which are too complicated to go into here and don't really matter, and the cost to me was $8.99 for a one-month supply. That is not a copay, it is the total cost, since nothing was submitted to the insurance company. This too was generic.
Why do I suspect UnitedHealthCare didn't really pay $66.06 as claimed? And why do I think that my copay is much higher than the 10-15% that they claim I am paying?
Update, Saturday morning: In response to a comment. Well yes. My week in the hospital for pnuemonia "cost" $58,335. Insurance paid $12,167 and there was a "discount" of $44,816, leaving me to pay $1351. Minus whatever Medicare pays. So about 77% of the bill was "discounted" for the insurance company.
Becasue you're suspicious, logical and have time on your hands to think up shit like this. Not saying that's a bad thing, mind you. Better if more people (especially the ones allegedly in charge) did more of this.
ReplyDeleteWe are all getting ripped off. I recently had a "minor" procedure that cost 35,000 supposedly. It took about 30 minutes. Insurance covered most of it thankfully. As for the remaining balance, I am more than happy to pay them 10 bucks a month.
ReplyDeleteSo the hospital is buying low and selling high? so to speak..
ReplyDeleteKinda shows healthcare pricing is a mess.