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Comment by quickben | Hacker News Reader

All this is a bit surreal (Canadian here), but it prompts the question: why won't people sue in a class action to refund money they gave to the insurance in the first place?

I realize it's a complex subject, but at the end of the day, the insurance companies advertise and sell: insurance.

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Any insurance policy will have clearly stated the difference between out of network and in network benefits.

But you can't always pick your providers. Example: You go to emergency room that is in-network. A month later you get the bill for the doctors that treated you - who aren't in-network.

"A new study that looked at more than 2 million emergency department visits found that more than 1 in 5 patients who went to ERs within their health-insurance networks ended up being treated by an "out-of-network" doctor — and thus exposed to additional charges not covered by their insurance plan." https://www.cnbc.com/2016/11/16/many-get-hit-with-surprise-o...

You think someone who is staring at bankruptcy is going to say to themselves "I know what I'll do, I'll spend thousands of dollars I don't have on a lawyer to solve this problem for other people in 5 years"?

You're right, that's unrealistic. In fact this sort of thing is why government was invented.

But muh freedom

You need a government that is responsible to its citizens. We don't have that - we have a government that is responsible to its biggest donors. The more some company or some industry can abuse the market to extract insane profits, the more they can lobby the legislatures to cover their ass and secure their business model.

And it's not just health insurance. Case in point: we have companies writing tax accounting software lobbying against simplification of tax code. And it works!

https://www.vox.com/2016/3/29/11320386/turbotax-boycott-lobb...

I know, at least at federal level the US isn't a democracy anymore, it's been taken over by corruption entirely. Until that is changed the problems for normal people like the one described in the post will only get worse.

Because that lawsuit would get thrown out.

Hahahahahaha. No. The American legal system is so stacked in favor of insurance companies it's ridiculous.

This isn’t true at all. Insurance is heavily regulated. If you can’t resolve an issue with your insurance, most states have arbitration committee that will smack down insurance companies pretty quickly.

Crucially, that's only true if you have the money and time to fight. For the people hurt worst by the system, they lack some or all of: knowledge that they can fight it, money with which to fight it (or again, knowledge that a lawyer will take it pro bono), and the time with which to fight it and not work one or more jobs. I know people on this forum are relatively well off, but everyone reading this should try to put themselves in the shoes of someone working multiple jobs, trying to take care of a sick family member, and facing predatory companies trying to bilk them for all they're worth.

That the government will protect you, in theory, is not the same thing as in practice.

Lolwat the entire purpose of Arbitration is to give a massive advantage to corporations.

This is a govt arbitration headed up by a state committee that regulates insurance in the state.

It’s not forced arbitration at all. You can still sue them.

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