And getting this approval is no foregone conclusion. And if you decide to go to a hospital without approval, the private insurers can refuse to pay. Another development infuriating patients and both Republican and Democrat sides of Congress is the increasing inflexibility of Managed Care under the corporations. Indictments are pending in more than six US states for alleged medical fraud. Stories abound of patients being hospitalised until their health insurance runs out.
Mental illness is one particular area where such widespread abuse has been reported.
US State prosecutions do little to stop the large health corporations in the US which can make billions of dollars out of health care but face fines of only tens of millions of dollars if found guilty. The paradox is that the sicker you are, in the US for profit health system, the less chance you have of getting health insurance. And even if you do manage to get insurance and get terribly sick, you might find that the service is not as good as you expected . The private corporations are not stopping there. They are currently pushing to take over the federally funded Medicare and Medicaid systems in the US which are limitted government schemes for the elderly and the poor.