If you do not have health insurance you are probably being charged more for hospital services than both insurance companies and Medicare pay.
According to a leading health policy researcher, uninsured and self pay hospital patients often pay 2 1/2 times more than most health insurers pay, and three times more than Medicare allowable costs.
Experts say that is because self pay patients are charged the full rates from a hospital's price list rather than the discounted rates hospitals give insurance companies.
In this month's Journal of Health Affairs, Anderson calls for a reform of hospital billing practices.
The billing issue is currently being litigated in several federal and state courts.
Uninsured May Pay Higher Medical Rates