I work in an endodontist office. There are 12 of us. We participated with the UWF, United Welfare Fund, aka, United Services Workers. They paid sh!t. For one root canal to make ends meet, we would have to see 3 UWF's patients. And of course, they were the ones who demanded the "elite" times....nights and Saturdays, because they would not take off work (for an emergency in which they were in "excruciating pain"). And these are the people we would block off time to do a 1 visit (if the tooth permitted) and they would "no show" or cancel at the last minute (which is what happens when you pay NOTHING out of pocket).
UWF went "under". Apparently these union "businesses" were not paying their dues; therefore, UWF could not pay out it's fees.
They switched to Healthplex, which is an absolute ABOMINATION. They pay even less than UWF and have some sort of scheme going on.
From this experience, in my little world, the unions are collapsing. The boss originally decided to sign up with these schemers; however, we are now dropping them.
From my little inside view (there are companies involved in litigation, however, I can't say who), but it seems the United Service Workers can't even get their own "peeps" to pay up.
I have to admit up front that I know little about how insurance companies reimburse providers. Be assured, I agree with what you are saying. Unionized workers think they are entitled to a lifelong guarantee that they will never have to spend one penny of their own money for any kind of medical treatment - medical, dental, vision, hearing, etc.
Why does a doctor choose to see the patients of an insurance company that pays so little? Can the doctor not require the patient to pay the balance, or part of it?
is what happens when you pay NOTHING out of pocket
That is soooo true of every give-away program - Medicaid, Food Stamps, welfare, etc.