That has been my issue with the US health care system.
Now, don't let anyone else fool you: the Canadian health care system sucks balls. And since not EVERYTHING is free, to get decent care (plus dentist!), you need private insurance. And on my pay checks, all that cost more out of my pocket than it does with half decent insurance in Boston. I'm fully aware its because my employer is paying more and shit, but that's a debate for another day.
Anyway, because of some ongoing health problems, I've been to the ER way more often than I'd like, and am constantly going to the clinic. The copays aren't bad, wait times are nearly inexistant, all is good.
The problem is, the paperwork. I get a stream of letters asking me to verify this or that, a single visit ends up in 8 distinct bills, all coming from different organizations and have to be paid separately. Half of them can't be paid online (even from hospitals like MGH. Wtf? _MGH_!!! Those that do end up needing to be paid on weird shady sites.
And then I'll get 3 bills, all 3 of different amounts, to be paid to 3 different offices, and they all say "office visit".
When I call, I'm told one is for the doctor, one is for the hospital facilities, and one is for the in-office labs (But I get ANOTHER bill for the labs).
In the end its pretty obvious whats happening. They're milking my insurance. Bill from 3 different entities for the same thing, and the insurance will pay all 3 for the same service. During that time, I'm caught in the cross fire paying the co-pay 3 times, and the bill is far too vague for me to do anything about it.
And what can I do? Refuse to pay it? They'll just send it to collection.
And thats when they get it right. The secretaries in charge of the paperwork are usually not the brightest bulbs... I have an out of state PPO insurance, and they always forget to enter the prefix part of my insurance (because its not necessary unless its out of state). Then bill me for not having insurance instead of calling to work it out.
Pain in the ass.
I don't mind the cost. At all. The paperwork though can go to hell.