> that's paying a premium to a middleman to manage your bills for you.
The thing is, under the current system, it's not even that; it's some sort of complex mixture of insurance and collective bargaining. The "insurance" companies pay decidedly less than the rate you'd be asked to pay if you got any of these treatments, checkups, or whatever else, yourself. Therefore, it's only logical that you get your insurance company to pay for you.
I've run over this a few times in my head, and there doesn't really seem to be a feasible way to split up companies between "usual" and "unusual" treatments - collective bargaining groups vs insurance - in a fair way, and definitely not one that works out cheaper.
The thing is, under the current system, it's not even that; it's some sort of complex mixture of insurance and collective bargaining. The "insurance" companies pay decidedly less than the rate you'd be asked to pay if you got any of these treatments, checkups, or whatever else, yourself. Therefore, it's only logical that you get your insurance company to pay for you.
I've run over this a few times in my head, and there doesn't really seem to be a feasible way to split up companies between "usual" and "unusual" treatments - collective bargaining groups vs insurance - in a fair way, and definitely not one that works out cheaper.