Robert59
Well-known Member
Hospital did also a one MRI and lot of other blood tests and x-rays. They said they checking too see if I had a stroke. My blood pressure was 234 over 100.
At that blood pressure level no wonder they took the kind of precaution they did. Sounds to me like they were doing CYA But we know hospitals grab all they can get from patients with insurance because of EMTLAHospital did also a one MRI and lot of other blood tests and x-rays. They said they checking too see if I had a stroke. My blood pressure was 234 over 100.
I agree.. but the down side is some people do not have a secondary insurance to take care of their deductible if their deductible has not been met with all the test they perform.. Xrays, MRI, etc. And in some instances, the secondary insurance do not take care of it all. I worked in medical billing for years...its more than a notion to say the least,They always bill a lot more than what they will receive. It's simply a matter of bookkeeping to make it look like a large write-off.
I get calls from clients all the time about this. It's really no big deal. Your insurance will pay the contracted rate.
Rick
Really want to save money on meds including generic look up what GoodRx. com has to offer.I saw a news piece on Medicare last week saying doctors don't know the price of drugs they prescribe and because of that drug makers are soaking Medicare dry. Insist on generic when possible.
The bill for May 2019 for the ambulance that took me into the hospital two streets over, was for $3,000.00. can you believe this?Really want to save money on meds including generic look up what GoodRx. com has to offer.
That's fraud isn't it?They always bill a lot more than what they will receive. It's simply a matter of bookkeeping to make it look like a large write-off.
I get calls from clients all the time about this. It's really no big deal. Your insurance will pay the contracted rate.
Rick
Maybe although it's purposely misleading. The medical industry even fought at least one disclosure/menu pricing bill this year. True they can't predict the final cost of YOUR visit and needed supplies, treatments, tests etc but those individual things should a price, one price.That's fraud isn't it?
I like that... "You pay them". Love it!!!!!Just as ridiculous:
12 years ago, after feeling strange for a few weeks, my sister tested me with her glucose meter and, just as I suspected, my glucose was over 500. She insisted on taking me to the ER. I sat there for an hour. I got 2 shots of insulin. During that hour, a doctor stuck him head in the room & said, "I consider you diabetic, & left." Well....we already figured that out.
While I was there, someone brought a meal for me: Turkey, string beans, a soda & chocolate pudding. I didn't know anything about diabetes then, & I have a sweet tooth, so, naturally I went for the pudding first. My sister walked in & yelled, "NO." Then she yelled at nurses - "You know he's diabetic & you bring him pudding & soda?"
Just before I was sent home, a woman from their billing department came in & handed me an invoice - $3,500.00, I gave her my credit card. She came back with the invoice stamped "Paid in Full."
Here's the bill kicker: A couple of weeks later, I started getting bills for $4,000.00 from other hospitals 100's of miles away that I'd never been to. I phoned them to ask about the bills & they said, "We sent your charts to other doctors for evaluation, so you have to pay them, too."
I asked, "When did I authorize you to have other doctors evaluate my chart?"
She said, "Well, they need to be paid." I said, "Great - YOU pay them."
Yeah.....phony evaluations from "other doctors."
I'm wondering what they charged you for the four baby aspirin? Almost 30 years ago, I was charged an outrageous amount for a comb! I did not request this item (drugstore - 10 cents); this item was not needed to restore my health. And yet - hey, they provided it, so you have to pay.I had a small stroke (TIA) in early January.
-CT scan in Emergency Room
-Blood work in Emergency Room
-One night in the hospital for observation
-One blood thinner shot
-4 baby aspirin
-Brain MRI
-Echo cardiogram
-Doppler screening on my arteries
Hospital Invoice (not including the MRI/CT scan/cardiogram/screening): $18,000
Paid by Medicare+Supplemental Insurance+Out of Pocket deductable: $ 1,500
It's insane. What leverage does someone without insurance have (and I've been there)? Are they really held to account for the inflated initial invoice?
Every person who walked into the room has a bill attached, whether they did anything useful or not.This is an interesting post to me as I lived in the USA for 15 years. My X was feeling bad one day so I took him to emergency in Vancouver WA thinking it might be his heart. To make a long story short it wasn't but they kept him overnight. The bill when we checked out was $14,000.00. Two weeks later we got bills for the doctors, the attendants, the food he ate, the physio he received. It didn't stop. I am so glad I live in Canada now. Do we pay more taxes....yes we do. But we get our money's worth as we get older and start using the system. I have had one surgery (thyroid) since coming home and haven't had to pay a penny out of my pocket. I waited 2 months to get in for my surgery so no wait time. I listen to horror stories all the time about medical stuff in the USA and I am so thankful to be back in Canada.
I had a small stroke (TIA) in early January.
-CT scan in Emergency Room
-Blood work in Emergency Room
-One night in the hospital for observation
-One blood thinner shot
-4 baby aspirin
-Brain MRI
-Echo cardiogram
-Doppler screening on my arteries
Hospital Invoice (not including the MRI/CT scan/cardiogram/screening): $18,000
Paid by Medicare+Supplemental Insurance+Out of Pocket deductable: $ 1,500
It's insane. What leverage does someone without insurance have (and I've been there)? Are they really held to account for the inflated initial invoice?
Oh yes there are ! Lawyers , and vet's !There is NO fraud like medical billing.
You hit on a few things:Yes, the bills are definitely outrageous and this is mainly due to the insurance companies and the manner in which everything is run. But, here in the U.S. Negotiation is the watchword, from lab testing, to pharma, doctor's fees and hospital costs. Never be afraid to do this. There really is a lot of pro bono work and lowered fees in our medical system. I have long maintained that if U.S. medical systems adopted the Cleveland Clinic program, there'd be no problem. Another problem which drives all costs up are the outrageous costs of malpractice insurance. Mine was sky high and I'd never had to use it. Waste of money in most cases.