Overbilling and Informed Financial Consent -- A Contractual Solution
New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 476, No. 5, p. 396, August 2012
2 Pages Posted: 9 Aug 2012
Date Written: August 2, 2012
Abstract
U.S. hospitals and physicians regularly charge uninsured patients and patients receiving care outside their health-plan networks far more what most health insurers pay and far more than their actual costs. Such practices have triggered over 100 lawsuits and prompted calls for pricing transparency in Congress and price regulation in several states. This Perspective argues that the theory of implied contracts, a foundation in most first-year courses in contract law, offers a useful legal and ethical mechanism for handling these troubling problems in health care billing.
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