A recent addition to the standard financial responsibility verbiage in the standard physician forms is the agreement to pay or accept responsibility to pay for services if the insurance company does not cover the visit or portions thereof. Wait! What? Isn't that why I have insurance? Isn't that what my premiums are for and what my co-pay covers? This is all too common today, and the policies (our policies) are too confusing to read and know exactly what our responsibility is. Coincidence? Discuss your feelings about the physician's office or hospital's level of commitment to verifying benefits and assuming responsibility for their errors.

Consider your feelings on making policies "plain language" so they can be understood and quickly clarified. Should you, as the patient, be responsible if your insurance company does not pay for a service that your physician orders? Should you be responsible for fighting to get that service paid for? Back up your opinions with references and in-text citations to course readings, lectures, or external articles.