Comment by pwg

> we can't figure out how to automate an insurance call

You obviously have not encountered an AVR (Automated Voice Response) tree yet. When you do, you'll be glad they don't 'automate' the call, as it would be worse than being on hold waiting to talk to an actual person.

> Is there a technical reason why so much insurance stuff has to be done over the phone?

Unsure. One guess is this falls out as a HIPPA requirement for "security" reasons. There are a lot of laws/rules in the US that were written years ago back in the day when the phone network was a single monopoly company and an isolated network such that "phone calls" were "secure" against eavesdropping. The phone network has changed such that this is no longer the case, but none of the laws/rules have been updated in the interim to account for the fact that "phone call" is no longer the same as it was when AT&T was the highly regulated monopoly provider of all phone service throughout the US.

> Why is it so hard to get a straight answer on how much a doctor's visit will cost?

Because the actual cost depends upon at least two things:

1) a secret contract agreement for pricing between the doctor (or the 'group' the doctor works for) and the specific insurance plan; and

2) how the doctor "codes" the visit for billing purposes (with the code referencing into that secret contract agreement).

> Are there regulatory challenges that make this all so complicated? I'm wondering if there are laws or compliance issues that make it hard to simplify things.

Yes, much of the mess that is medical insurance in the US is the direct result of many regulations/laws enacted over many years, that all sum up to the ugly monster that is the system as it exists now. And because it is profitable for the incumbents, they purchase politicians in order to keep the mess messy to maintain their legacy profitability.