Capitalism Gone Wild: Hospital Prices Soar.....

[JohnStOnge]

Stop requiring that they treat people who can't pay and they won't have to shift the cost to those who can.

[FCS PATRIOTS]

People with no insurance clog the ER's and they get paid for by...everyone else
Ambulance chasers like John Edwards drive up malpractice awards that get paid for by....everyone else

As someone who works in the hospital collections industry, truer words were never spoken, although insurance companies damn near fight tooth and nail to get ANYTHING paid but yes, the chronically uninsured who take advantage of the system are bankrupting hospitals. I call them H.E.R.O., Habitual Emergency Room Offenders and they have NO INTENTION of paying their debts and it ain't just inner city blacks. I can name one county in GA specifically that is nothing but white trash deadbeats. Sad.

[FCS PATRIOTS]

Mama Cat and I added up the bills and my two stays at hospital last winter, including my two surgeries and everything else, cost around $1MM. Can't IMAGINE what it would cost if I was in California at the time. Insurance paid for all but about $3500.

Perusing the itemized bills, we found outrageous charges such at $49 for two extra-strength Tylenol - something I had every day in my second stay for the incision infection. Ambien for sleep - $44 per tablet. Every saline flush of my IV - $60 - and I must had 10-12 a day. Home nurse told me that her employer buys the saline-filled syringes for $40/gross.
One ambulance ride was $1790. Second one, hours later, was $19,000! Yep, had decent insurance and glad to be alive, but, something's wrong.

And, then.....the second hospital came after us for $7000 more in "unpaid" charges. Pushed back and said insurance was supposed to pay for those. They hmmmmed and hahhhhed and eventually dropped it, but not after calling every two days for payment. Ended up charging insurance after all, after they tried to get us to fork it over. Later found out that the health system to which this hospital belonged was notorious in Minnesota for its relentless pursuit of patient money and unsavory practices in doing so.

You sir have GODDAMN GOOD INSURANCE to be only responsible for $3500 after all that. FUCK!

[FCS PATRIOTS]

Mama Cat and I added up the bills and my two stays at hospital last winter, including my two surgeries and everything else, cost around $1MM. Can't IMAGINE what it would cost if I was in California at the time. Insurance paid for all but about $3500.

Perusing the itemized bills, we found outrageous charges such at $49 for two extra-strength Tylenol - something I had every day in my second stay for the incision infection. Ambien for sleep - $44 per tablet. Every saline flush of my IV - $60 - and I must had 10-12 a day. Home nurse told me that her employer buys the saline-filled syringes for $40/gross.
One ambulance ride was $1790. Second one, hours later, was $19,000! Yep, had decent insurance and glad to be alive, but, something's wrong.

And, then.....the second hospital came after us for $7000 more in "unpaid" charges. Pushed back and said insurance was supposed to pay for those. They hmmmmed and hahhhhed and eventually dropped it, but not after calling every two days for payment. Ended up charging insurance after all, after they tried to get us to fork it over. Later found out that the health system to which this hospital belonged was notorious in Minnesota for its relentless pursuit of patient money and unsavory practices in doing so.

I believe it. When I was hospitalized last November, it was a $30,000 bill. I paid a total of $500 and 10 months after all of that, I received a bill for $25 from some doctor that I never met, claiming he visited me.

As I try to tell people in my job, the hospital bills you just forw walking in the door and then the doctors charge you for every piece of equipment used and for visiting you. sucks, but until the whole system is fixed and obamacare ain;t the answer, we're all fucked. eat green and fiber and jog 4 miles a day!

[FCS PATRIOTS]

Stop requiring that they treat people who can't pay and they won't have to shift the cost to those who can.

Seriously. You'd just let somebody die..............

[Skjellyfetti]

Stop requiring that they treat people who can't pay and they won't have to shift the cost to those who can.

In favor of the imaginary death panels?