AHIP Criticizes 'Exorbitant' Out-of-Network Charges

Jon Skinner, a healthcare economist at Dartmouth College, says he believes that "some truly high payments are floating around." He noted similar findings in other studies, most recently a July 19 report by Health Reform Watch at Seton Hall University's School of Law, Health Law & Policy Program.

"The question of what providers charge is of course very, very important for the overall costs of healthcare," Skinner says. "However, I do not think that high prices charged by out-of-network providers are a large factor in why healthcare costs are so expensive. It is symptomatic of a more general problem with U.S. healthcare—the lack of information about and attention to prices."

The survey's release comes at a time of high anxiety for the health insurance industry, which has been the focus of sharp criticism from the Obama Administration. The industry strongly opposes Obama's call for a public plan to compete with private insurers, which Obama says is needed to keep private insurers "honest." Private plans, however, say they would be placed at a competitive disadvantage.

On Tuesday, the president blamed reform critics for mischaracterizing the public plan as a government takeover. "This is not about putting the government in charge of your health insurance. I don't believe anyone should be in charge of your health insurance decisions but you and your doctor," he told the crowd. "I don't think government bureaucrats should be meddling, but I also don't think insurance company bureaucrats should be meddling. That's the health care system I believe in."

Sounding like a consumer activist, Obama told the crowd that stronger oversight of the private healthcare sector is needed "just make sure that private insurers are treating you fairly so that you are not buying something where if you failed to read the fine print, next thing you know, when you actually get sick, you have no coverage."

"Under the reform we're proposing, insurance companies will be prohibited from denying coverage because of a person's medical history. Period," the president continued. "They will not be able to drop your coverage if you get sick. They will not be able to water down your coverage when you need it. Your health insurance should be there for you when it counts—not just when you're paying premiums, but when you actually get sick. And it will be when we pass this plan."