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I have a complaint that I want others to be aware of. I am insured by Aetna. They make arrangements with hospitals that agree that Aetna will pay agreed upon rates and prices for services at that hospital for its members. The hospital becomes a preferred provider of Aetna. This is where the term PPO comes from. Anyway, I received a bill from Stanford Hospital a couple of months ago for $143 they claim was due for services performed in May of 1994. That was two years ago. I had records so was able to find the game they play. It turns out $28 of the bill was correct. The remaining $115 was for difference between what Stanford wanted to charge me and what Aetna agreed to pay. This is the second time Stanford has tried to charge me for the Aetna - Stanford agreed discount. When my son was a student at UCLA, they always billed for the discount amount saying this was the student's obligation. I spent over a half hour on the phone once with UCLA hospital billing services concerning this over billing. They insisted it was the patient obligation always. I worte a letter to them explaining what was happening and I did not hear again from them. If all this is confusing, they (hospital) want it be that way. Here is a simple example. A hospital anf your insurer agree that any patinet coverd by this insurer entering this hospital will get a 25% discount. You now are admitted to te hospital and the bill is $1,000. The agreement says hak a 25% discount and the charges will be $750. The insurance company is billed $1,000 which they erduce to $750 as per contract. The $750 is the patient cost. Retail hospital costs $1,000 Discount for insurer-25% 250 Insurer agrees to pay 750 The obligation for the $750 is both the insurer and the patient. Be careful that the hospital does not charge you for $250 discount. When I talk to Aetna about these billing practices by the hospitals they tell me they should not do it. Aetna was not willing to notify the hospital of the illegal billing. All I can say is "buyer beware" when it comes to billing practices of some hospital. Regards, Alan Bonander 56/12 ([log in to unmask])