Medical Bills Often Come with Sticker Shock but Insurance Could be Reinvented to Provide Costs Upfront

The price of the doctor’s visit you calculated online might not reflect what you’ll be billed.
The price of the doctor’s visit you calculated online might not reflect what you’ll be billed.
chormail/Envato
Share
The price of the doctor’s visit you calculated online might not reflect what you’ll be billed.
The price of the doctor’s visit you calculated online might not reflect what you’ll be billed.
chormail/Envato
Medical Bills Often Come with Sticker Shock but Insurance Could be Reinvented to Provide Costs Upfront
Copy

You have scheduled an appointment with a health care provider, but no matter how hard you try, no one seems to be able to reliably tell you how much that visit will cost you. Will you have to pay US$20, $1,000 – or even more?

Patients are increasingly on the hook for health care costs through deductibles, co-pays and other fees. As a result, patients are demanding credible cost information before appointments to choose where they seek care and control their budget.

Yet, in spite of recent legislation and regulations, upfront information on patient out-of-pocket costs is still difficult to obtain from both health care providers and insurers.

Read the full article on The Conversation.

Loui’s Family Restaurant, an eccentric greasy spoon in the shadow of Brown University, was a melting pot of Ivy League students, artists, cops, truck drivers and anyone else who might be hungry for a 5 a.m. meal
The Warwick Republican says a desire to ‘be part of the solution’ — for her kids and aging grandmother — led her to the Statehouse
Cigarette butts and beverage bottles decreased in quantity, while foam and plastic pieces are on the rise, new Save the Bay report finds
First Episode of Ocean State: Rhode Island’s Wild Coast is out now!
From high-stakes elections to global sports, Brown University fallout and pop-culture buzz, 2026 is shaping up to be a pivotal year in the Ocean State
The U.S. Attorney’s Office released transcripts of the suspect’s videotaped remarks