Medical Insurance

Here is another desktop wallpaper that I downloaded a week or so ago.

I received in the mail yesterday the bill for my daughter's anesthesia. The original charge was for $880.00. My Medical Megachew paid $488.67. The "Anesthesia , Inc." then adjusted the bill and subtracted $297.00, leaving me with a $94.33 balance to pay.

I wonder. How does this "adjustment" policy work? Do they jack up the price and see what the insurance company is going to pay and then bring it back down to the "normal" charge? What the hell is the adjustment? Maybe I'll call and ask them just to see what their explanation is.

Never mind. I found an explanation:

5. Why did my billing statement have an adjustment amount?
"Adjustment" (discount) refers to the portion of your bill that your hospital or doctor has agreed not to charge. Insurance companies pay hospital charges at discounted rate. The amount of the discount is specific to each insurance company. When the insurance company pays their portion, the discounted amount (adjustment) is taken off to show the true amount due from the patient (co-insurance). For example, a hospital may charge $10,000 for a surgery that your insurance has agreed to only pay $2,500. Of that $2,500, the patient would have to pay $500 if the patient's responsibility is 20%. After the insurance pays $2,000 and patient pays $500, the remaining $7,500 would be the adjustment.