4/24    I have medical insurance coverage through work. Whenever I go to
        the doctor, they ask for my medical insurance card and a $10 copay.
        Then a few weeks later I get something in the mail from the
        insurance company saying that 80% (or something like that) of my
        visit was covered and the other 20% (which is more than the $10
        copay) is not covered. At the end of the statement there's usually
        something like "Patient Pays: $50" which seems to be saying that
        I still owe my doctor $50 (or at least $40, if you count the
        copay). But I almost never get a bill from my doctor for that
        $50 / $40, so I never end up paying it. This seems to be how it
        has happened as long as I can remember, even with different
        doctors and different insurance companies. So what happens to
        that $50? Why don't the doctors try to collect it? Am I cheating
        my doctor by not sending them that money? just curious.
        \_ are your visits supposed to be covered 100% after co-pay?
           are you sure your doctor is "in plan"? sometimes some
           of the bill says "not covered" when it means "not charged,
           because we struck a deal with the insurance company".
        \_ My doctors always bill me for that amount. Always. It sometimes
           takes them a few months, but they will (minus the co-payment).
           If they haven't billed you then don't worry about it. --dim
        \_ It could be that your doctor is being nice and charging the
           insurance company extra to make up for whatever they're not
        \_ yawn.
           charging you.  My dentist does that.
           \_ This is also a reflection of the quality of service you
              are getting.  Good doctors/dentists don't need to do this.
              You get what you pay for.
                \_ This is not true.  How does the dentist working the system
                   on your behalf make him a bad dentist?  Ethics and dental
                   maintenance skills do not have a 1:1 correlation.  The
                   system is fucked.  I don't see anything wrong with
                   *everyone* working it.  You already paid for full service
                   care through your paychecks.  The medical insurance industry
                   is worth billions but they don't improve medical care.  They
                   only leech off the doctor/patient relationship.  Please
                   explain how paying too much to buy someone in the insurance
                   industry a new yacht improves my dental/medical health care.
              \_ I firmly believe in the concept of "you get what you pay for"
                 when it comes to goods and services. But I can usualy
                 differentiate between my choices. A lot of people seem to
                 either not care or don't have the time to care to
                 notice the differences and thus always go for the lowest priced
                 item.