Allina, Fairview settlement could mean discounts for some uninsured

A local health care system in Minneapolis has been mandated to discount care for the uninsured. We all know there is the bizarre practice in the business of medicine with regard to discrepancies between medical charges and collections. This has always intrigued me. I would love to have my plumber send me a bill then have a third party negotiate with him to pay only forty percent of the bill. Essentially that is the role of the insurance companies, third party price negotiators.

Unfortunately the uninsured have no negotiating leverage, hence the hospital collections arms can aggressively pursue collections at percentages that even insurance companies don't pay. I am not so sure this is a big problem in my neck of the woods. In fact I think the opposite is true in the majority of systems across the nation, but I have to source to support it.

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