alt Hacker News> Whatever effect you're describing, if it's material, has to have started after the NHE data I just posted, from 2023.
What? Insurers have been playing this game far further back than 2023.
If an insurer doubles the time a doc has to fight over denials and has to hire extra billing staff to assist, where do you imagine that cost shows up?
I feel like we've been in this argument before, and I like you just fine as a commenter, but do feel like you're tying yourself into knots to avoid a simple conclusion plainly supported by the data. I didn't post a trend story about what companies are doing or who they're acquiring; I posted the macro NHE table from last year. It simply refutes the argument you're trying to make.