Surprise

Above my pay grade to know if this will seriously help, but the "surprise billing" problem highlights the fact that insurance companies don't even bother to try to do the job they are supposed to do (negotiate rates) because they could just pass the bills to you anyway. They don't even bother to tell supposedly in network hospitals they contract with that they can't just add random out of network personnel.

The Biden administration released a rule Thursday that addresses one of the most fought-over provisions of a coming ban on surprise medical bills.

The rule details how a new class of medical billing arbiters will decide the fair price for emergency medical care, one of the largest sources of surprise bills. The rule received a positive reaction from consumer advocates and some legislators who drafted the law, but it “disappointed” emergency physicians, who fear it will lead to unreasonably low rates.

The abuses are absurd (the oncologist who is out of network and peeks in your room as you are sleeping and adds $5000) and they should just be criminal fraud, but that the insurance companies are "lol who cares" highlights their role is a sham.