At the end of April I visited a cardiologist. It was covered by a Medicare Advantage plan. Note that the base bill was for $524.00 but because it was covered by United Health Care $358.97 was deducted up front. Now if I had not had insurance I would have been billed for the entire $524.00. I see this as a problem. A few years ago when I had no insurance I checked with a friend in the insurance industry how much they would pay. I offered to pay the hospital that amount and they refused. I payed them that amount anyway and they never took me to collections and as near as I can tell it did not impact my credit rating. I must admit I don’t understand this. I will be curious to hear from Dr. Ron Chusid.