$37,000.00 Appendix?

[Non-Typical Solutions]

We were headed to Oklahoma State for a wrestling camp this summer.

 

He started hurting bad by the time we hit Albuquerque so we stopped and found a hospital.

 

Less that 24 hours later we were headed on to Oklahoma, Cole wouldn't be able to wrestle but he still wanted to go watch and film.

 

He got to spend quality time visiting with John Smith.

 

We got the bill yesterday........$37,000.00.............WHAT??????

 

Don't get me wrong, I am glad they took care of Cole but really? That is almost equivalent to my yearly salary.

 

We did have insurance but WOW........crazy stuff right there, $37,000.00................

[Flatlander]

This sis how our system works. You probably saw a big discount or adjustment to that amount (60%+ On my insurance) before they paid their portions.

 

The insurance companies require providers to give them "discounts" to be in their network. So the healthcare companies jack up the price of their services to be able to give the insurance companies their discounts. This is how a vile of scorpion antivenin that costs $100 on the street in MX ends up costing $75,000 in the US. Markup on markup on markup.

[camoremi]

That's our crap United States health care system. I'm sure I will die someday because I can't afford to go to the doctor. I have a 6k deductible for hospitals. Friggin ridiculous.

[mbiewer]

Oh man, healthcare is as screwed up as politics.

 

"getting better" is dictated by the insurance companies. My dad was in an accident years back. ICU/coma for 4 weeks... moved to a regular floor fro a week. 5 minutes from when the doctor walked in and talked to my mom and I about the how she wanted to keep him for observation, the registration person walked in and said the insurance was moving dad to a care home for rehab.

 

At the week 5 mark, dad's trache tube was coming out. 5 long weeks in a horrible care home, dad finally got released. 2-3 hours after getting home, the phone rings. It was a medical equipment supplier saying they missed meeting us at the care home to give us home health supplies. Super, until they showed up. 2 big boxes of supplies... most of which were for the discontinued trache tube and a suction pump for cleaning his pump. #1, dad no longer had the tube. #2 none of us were respiratory techs that were qualified to run the pump to suction his non existent trache hole. (After all, even the nurses he had weren't allowed to do the task, just the resp techs).

 

I tried to refuse it, but the guy said "oh no, you cant.... its paid for already by the insurance".

 

(in the end my parents found a medical mission group to donate 75%of the goods to)

[hunter4life]

Insurance will probably pay 60% of that and the rest will be written off.

The hospital has to increase the price due to all of the people that don't pay their bills at all, so the poor guy who has some money but no insurance really gets screwed.

 

You also have to have such a high bill to be able to support all the layers of adminstrators, HIPPA compliance officers, billers, coders, etc. that are needed to just get the money out of the insurance company. None of these people actually do anything productive and are just part of the giant "system" that healthcare has become. There are so many middle men making a buck in healthcare that it is crazy. The actual amount going to the doctors and nurses that took care of your son is just a tiny fraction of that bill. The surgeons fee is probably only about $600.00

[MULEPACKHUNTER]

I am no expert on just about anything but my wife was born a nurse and is a saint in the field along with a lot of her counterparts from the maintenance guys to the CEO of john c lincoln . I know in many businesses people don't realize what it costs to operate a facility. In the case of john c they are never not under construction or remodel to better their ability to care. From custom UV filtrated air systems to back up power to 1200 an hour medivac heli to dedicated staff. Yes they could be cheaper and make more profit but who wants to go have surgery where they dim the lighting and hire anyone off the street. 37000. Sounds high to me as well and as was mentioned only a portion will be paid but the hospital nor the healthcare system is to blame. It all falls in two places, idiot people with frivolous lawsuits against doctors and hospitals and non paying individuals. This is 90 percent of the problem with the cost of healthcare. Just like in taxes we pay for the ones who don't. Our great country and people refuse to let someone suffer without care so no matter who show up in need we care for them and in the end because some in america lack the morals to get up and fight for a decent place in this world we the ones who go to work and do whatever it takes to make a decent way in life have to pay more than we use. God bless nurses and america. oh and may all of us on clues end up at the doctor in late December bad backs from carrying overloaded packs full of dinner and bone. m

[MULEPACKHUNTER]

I don't believe health care is perfect and insurance companies with huge profits are not helping along with drug companies who should bare more than a large share of blame in costs rising. Anyway glad all in the family are safe

[AZbowhntr]

Don't even get me going on this subject. I have spent at least 45K out of my own pocket in just the last few years because of our healthcare. My wife had to have a kidney removed. During all of the preliminary visits we asked everyone what our portion was going to be after our insurance paid theirs. Everyone said no more than 10K. Well within a few months of the operation bills started piling up. It got to the point that we didn't know what was what. Finally my wife said send an itemized bill with everything on it. I didn't know it cost over 1K just to refill a staple gun. But apparently it does. Just for than overnight stay cost just under 40K.

 

And a couple years ago while I was down south hunting she had to go to the emergency room. They billed us twice because they had a shift change. That bill was almost 9k.

 

I have told my wife if she was a horse I would have put her down a long time ago.

[MULEPACKHUNTER]

t really sucks when bills come for service but really are we at a point where we expect to have serious life saving surgery and not pay anything? You know what if you have health issues and it costs a ton of cash I am sorry but you will have to pay for it just as I would. Again it sucks but there shouldn't be free rides. Yes everyone should do their due diligence and make sure you are not overcharged or mis charged but in the end don't expect your life being saved to be free. My wife and I pay more than most people I know monthly for our health insurance but you get what you pay for.

[MULEPACKHUNTER]

One thing that would help for real more than talk is keep yourself in shape and eat healthy as you can stand. Don't be the stereotype american lazy and fat. Push those around you to get healthy and or stay that way and if we could push this hard in america we could do some real change to costs.

[GotBowAz]

Im glad to hear Cole is ok Jeff, tell him I said hi, hope we get a chance to cross paths this year during the wrestling season.season. Im glad for Cole sense it had to happen that it was now and not during his high school season. And that bill is just nuts!

[Havasuhunter]

My life has been defined by health, medical bills and getting screwed by insurance companies the last few years. I feel your pain. Hope you get it all taken care of. Should be able to get it written off and or severely discounted as comments above state.

[Non-Typical Solutions]

All is good, the insurance we have on him is a 5000 deductible 70/30 plan so bottom line is we still had about 3000 left to pay on deductible and will still owe 5000 when it is all cleared up. When I asked Blue Cross/Blue Shield who was going to pay the remaining $32000.00 they said because the hospital was in the "consortium" the rest just gets waived which then leads me to believe that the $37,000.00 is a highly inflated price.

 

I work pretty hard to not be part of the 43%.........and I have filled my staple gun many, many times for alot less than $1000.00......and I have never made somebody else pay for my work because somebody sued or somebody defaulted on work done............we are currently waiting to get the "itemized" bill......can't wait to see that.......

[sjvcon]

All this talk about medical bills....can't wait to see what my spinal fusion in two weeks is going to get billed out at. Price you pay for being dumb as a youngster and lifting a soda fountain machine...that and 23 years of on and off pain. I'd like to go back in time and punch myself in the nose.

 

Glad Cole is okay and has some time to heal up before the season.

[PRDATR]

My sisters and their daughters are nurses so I hear it a lot along with the amount that Medicare pays was cut a couple of years ago and making doctors having to be affiliated with a hospital.

A few years ago when my 18 year old daughter was on her deathbed the only thing the hospital administrator was interested in was trying to get us to sign forms for financial responsibility. Talk about preying on someones emotions.