1 in 4 Pennsylvanians say they paid out of pocket for their annual checkup. Why isn’t insurance covering these preventive visits?
I was teaching health economics when a student raised his hand. We were discussing the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, which requires most health plans to cover certain recommended preventive services at no additional cost to patients. I explained that preventive care could cost nothing. The student had expected that, too. Instead, he said, he received a bill for more than US$500 after his checkup. He was so frustrated that he said he would never go back for another annual checkup. I suggested he contact his insurer to find out why he had been charged and whether his visit had been billed as preventive care. Then another student spoke up. Her husband had paid several hundred dollars for what he thought would be a free checkup too. The very next day, I received a $78 bill for my own Pap smear. I expected my insurance to cover this cervical cancer screening without cost-sharing because it is…