There are a number of reasons as to why Americans are not aware of
the costs incurred by the government. A survey conducted by
PolicyGenius highlights this issue in America; "a survey of 2,000
American health insurance consumers found that 96% of Americans
overestimate their understanding of health insurance concepts."
(PolicyGenius, para. 3, 2017). The complex nature of the American
Healthcare system creates a situation where consumers are not
aware of what they are actually paying for, and who is actually
paying for their services. The patient essentially becomes a product
for payers. Providers bill payers directly for their services, and the
patient is oblivious to the whole process. This, along with the
numerous laws that effect reimbursement rates for different services
furthers this confusion that the population has. In my career, I
currently work with patients and insurance billing in the urgent care
setting. There is always confusion on how copays work, what
services certain insurances cover, etc. I notice this confusion first
hand!
Americans often times do not receive a bill for their care services, as
providers bill the insurance directly. As the patient does not see the
actual bill, the patient becomes unaware of how much health care
actually costs. The compete unawareness to costs leads to a
misunderstanding on how much the government is involved. In 2020,
the government spent $4.1 trillion, or $12,530 per citizen (CMS,
para. 2, 2021) person. The complexity of the healthcare system leads
to confusion on the reimbursement process, which the government is
heavily involved in.
It is important that people educate themselves on the healthcare
system and what health insurance pays for, as reimbursement is
always shifting. Insurance providers may one day not cover a certain
prescription or service that a patient needs, and this payment then
falls on the patient. Knowledge on reimbursement prevents can this
from happening!
References
CMS. (2021, December 15). Historical. CMS. Retrieved February 10,
2022, from https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-
Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/
NationalHealthExpendData/
NationalHealthAccountsHistorical#:~:text=U.S.%20health%20care
%20spending%20grew,For%20additional%20information%2C
%20see%20below.
PolicyGenius. (2017). 4 health insurance terms 96% of Americans don't
know. Policygenius. Retrieved February 10, 2022,
from https://www.policygenius.com/health-insurance/health-
insurance-literacy-survey/
