NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #16/NN_1992_16.iso/spool/misc/consumer/14429

Text File | 1992-07-24 | 1.6 KB | 36 lines

Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Path: sparky!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!linac!att!att!cbnewsl!stank
From: [e-mail] (Stan Krieger)
Subject: Re: advice needed for dealing with dentist/insurance
Organization: Summit NJ
Distribution: usa
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 1992 16:56:08 GMT
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Keywords: insurance, dentist
References: <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]>
Lines: 23

>One thing you could do is to submit the claim yourself.  Just get an itemized
>bill from the dentist and mail it in with the claim form.  Technically they
>are just doing you a favor by billing the insurance company.

I totally disagree with the conclusion about "doing you a favor".

As far as I am concerned, the only reason that 1) we have as many
medical practitioners as we do, and 2) the prices are as high as
they are, is due to insurance (all of government, employer-provided,
and individual coverage).  It's simply an implementation of the law
of supply and demand (like in my case, for normal illnesses, $5 of
doctors fees and prescriptions cost me $1, so the "demand curve"
is expanded by 400%; meaning that is I'm willing to pay $200 for
something, it maps to $1000 on a supply-demand curve).

When a medical provider tries to act as though my insurance is none
of his business or concern, I set him straight in a hurry as to where
his bread is buttered.
--
Stan Krieger                     All opinions, advice, or suggestions, even
AT&T UNIX System Laboratories    if related to my employment, are my own.
Summit, NJ
[e-mail]