For many of us with health insurance, we know if we get treatment from a doctor whoâs in our health insuranceâs network the price of that treatment will be cheaper. And if you see a provider outside your network the price could often be significantly higher.
Therefore, it makes sense that if you have to go to an emergency room itâs better to go to the hospital thatâs in your network, right? Well, not always, according to a report released by the Center for Public Policy Priorities.
Oftentimes, the doctors working in that ER are hired as contractors, and the study says that the three largest insurers in Texas bill about half of their ER charges as out-of-network services because those doctors are contractors. And that means that already costly visit to the ER could end up costing a patient even more.
We discuss the practice known as “balance billing” with Stacey Pogue, Senior Policy Analyst at the Center for Public Policy Priorities, and look at the practices of the biggest ensurers in Texas and ERs around Houston.
