629 Dollar Band Aid Bill After An ER Visit For A Pinky Cut.

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A man took his daughter to the hospital for pinky cut. After five minutes and a band aid a bill including a charge for a 629 dollar band aid came in the mail. After a $622 emergency room and doctor bill.

http://www.vox.com/2016/5/13/11606760/emergency-facility-fees-american-health-care

The usual arguments and rationalizations by the medical industry. If there are cost other than the ER and doctor then put them on the bill in detail. The cost issues involved with the medical industry in the US will never be corrected if one doesn't even know where the actual costs are. Anything else should be fraud.
 

Visiting the ER shouldn't be a person's primary recourse for minor healthcare issues. There are too many people in the U.S. that have too crappy healthcare, hence the need for ACA.
 

I think Universal Healthcare or Single Payer is the best way to go for the US. I think Sanders wants Medicare for all, wish he had a chance to make it to the nomination, I'd vote for him.
 
SeaBreeze said:
I think Universal Healthcare or Single Payer is the best way to go for the US. I think Sanders wants Medicare for all, wish he had a chance to make it to the nomination, I'd vote for him.
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I'm certainly with you on the single payer. What we have is a nightmare.
 
If you take your daughter to the ER for a little knick on her finger, you should expect to pay whatever they charge. While the doctor was wasting his/her time putting a band aid on the little girls finger he could have been treating a patient that really needed a doctor. Geeeez.
 
Hoot N Annie said:
If you take your daughter to the ER for a little knick on her finger, you should expect to pay whatever they charge. While the doctor was wasting his/her time putting a band aid on the little girls finger he could have been treating a patient that really needed a doctor. Geeeez.
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Without the band aid the hospital still would've made $622 for less than 10 minutes work, more probably went into administrative paper work and billing than medical care.. Granted the dad was over protective about his snowflake and probably didn't even realize he could've gone to an urgent care or clinic. Costs are high but patients and providers have been brainwashed and programmed in the insurance based medical care system. If the providers don't want a single payer system it be to their benefit to be more honest with the cost. If the ER visit should be a couple hundred dollars more then raise it. Don't try to disguise or recoup the cost else where-full disclosure.
 
" made $622 for less than 10 minutes work, "

You are not paying for the medical staffs' time but their qualifications. They have all worked damned hard to get where they are and they deserve their reward.

"The labourer is worthy of his hire" 1 Timothy 5:18
 
It doesn't surprise me.

I'm all for single payer healthcare--essentially, Medicaid for all.

Just talked to an employee at a dental clinic (a franchise one--what next?). Employees are told that if the patient is Medicaid their service is lessened. They try to rush them through, without the usual extra attention other patients receive.

In this area of many well-to-do, there are many specialist physicians who refuse to even see anyone on Medicaid.

Those examples are an issue of greedy doctors/hospitals, not unlike greedy drug companies.
 
I'm in shock. Earlier this year I had an ambulance ride to the ER, 3 days in ICU and all up 3 weeks in hospital. Had 3 follow up visits from a nurse in my home and never paid a cent. I'd be too scared to catch a cold if I lived in the USA.
 
mitchezz said:
I'm in shock. Earlier this year I had an ambulance ride to the ER, 3 days in ICU and all up 3 weeks in hospital. Had 3 follow up visits from a nurse in my home and never paid a cent. I'd be too scared to catch a cold if I lived in the USA.
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I live in the USA and wouldn't have paid a cent for those services either!
 
Ruthanne said:
I live in the USA and wouldn't have paid a cent for those services either!
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So some have free Healthcare? I do have private health insurance but my sister who filled out all the paperwork didn't know the details so they admitted me under Medicare (public system). I have private insurance as there are waiting lists for non urgent cases.
 
Laurie said:
" made $622 for less than 10 minutes work, "

You are not paying for the medical staffs' time but their qualifications. They have all worked damned hard to get where they are and they deserve their reward.

"The labourer is worthy of his hire" 1 Timothy 5:18
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And that is paid for by insurance companies, or the patient and is the reason why the US has the most expensive healthcare in the world. And people who go bankrupt due to medical bills. Healthcare in the US is a 'for profit' business.

No thanks. Glad I've got the NHS for my old age.
 
mitchezz said:
I'm in shock. Earlier this year I had an ambulance ride to the ER, 3 days in ICU and all up 3 weeks in hospital. Had 3 follow up visits from a nurse in my home and never paid a cent. I'd be too scared to catch a cold if I lived in the USA.
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Our friends child had leukemia a few years ago. She was in a good children's hospital for months and months. They did not pay a penny for her care or medications.
 
Healthcare costs in the U.S. are nearly double those in any other civilized nation....and the last ranking by the World Health Organization placed the U.S. way down the list at about number 34 in terms of quality of care, and value received for our costs. If you look up the top 10 highest paid careers in the U.S., 9 of them are in the medical provider careers.

http://www.bls.gov/ooh/highest-paying.htm

But, there is hope on the horizon. Between the Greed inherent in our present "for profit" system, and the chaos being generated by the ACA, I don't think it will be many more years before the people of this nation wake up and demand a SP system similar to those which are working quite well for people in other nations. There is NO Free Lunch, and the people in the UHC system nations probably pay more in taxes to support their systems, but those taxes are probably far less than we pay in ridiculous insurance premiums and co-pays....and now government "subsidies" for those being provided for under Obamacare.
 
Don M. said:
Healthcare costs in the U.S. are nearly double those in any other civilized nation....and the last ranking by the World Health Organization placed the U.S. way down the list at about number 34 in terms of quality of care, and value received for our costs. If you look up the top 10 highest paid careers in the U.S., 9 of them are in the medical provider careers.

http://www.bls.gov/ooh/highest-paying.htm

But, there is hope on the horizon. Between the Greed inherent in our present "for profit" system, and the chaos being generated by the ACA, I don't think it will be many more years before the people of this nation wake up and demand a SP system similar to those which are working quite well for people in other nations. There is NO Free Lunch, and the people in the UHC system nations probably pay more in taxes to support their systems, but those taxes are probably far less than we pay in ridiculous insurance premiums and co-pays....and now government "subsidies" for those being provided for under Obamacare.
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Many like to say UHC is 'free' but of course it is not. It's free at the point of service. I'm sure taxes are higher than in the US, but it's well worth it to never have to worry about the cost of healthcare or prescriptions or any kind of co-pays.
 
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I have a Medicare Advantage plan for which I pay nothing, except my regular Medicare premium of $104/mo. When I dislocated my shoulder (don't do this, it's incredibly painful) a little over a year ago I only paid a small deductible for the ER, and that was all. I got excellent service also.

If this had happened when I had private insurance before I was old enough for Medicare, it would have cost me a LOT more.
 
Way back in 2013 I had a small heart attack which led to quad bypass. The original hospital bill was about $145k. That's "retail". Medicare paid about $35k and my "medigap" plan paid another $3k. The hospital just writes off the remainder. My out of pocket was zero. My premiums are about $300 a month. But if you were uninsured you would be held liable for the $145k retail amount. Go figure.
 
Ameriscot said:
Many like to say UHC is 'free' but of course it is not. It's free at the point of service. I'm sure taxes are higher than in the US, but it's well worth it to never had to worry about the cost of healthcare or prescriptions or any kind of co-pays.
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Anyone in the U.S. who hasn't been paying attention better start saving some money for the expected insurance rate hikes coming this Fall. 2017 is going to give a lot of us some Serious Sticker Shock when the rates are announced for 2017. Whoever the next President is, they are going to Have to Address this issue, and just blaming Obama isn't going to help anyone. When the dust settles on this problem, most are going to find that paying a couple of extra percentage points in taxes is a heckuva lot cheaper than living with these ever increasing premiums and co-pays.

http://www.fool.com/investing/gener...gn=article&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=yahoo-2
 
Part of the mess besides Big Corporate Hospital is Big Pharma. When we did the thread asking if you could personally execute a criminal? Even though he's not charged with a capitol offense I could personally string up Skerelli and all those other exec's profiting from puffing up the market.

I've had to go off one of my meds for a month until the Medicaid kicks back in. The medication I take and isn't controlled or for anything life-threatening. But still I'm lucky I didn't getting any side effects stopping it suddenly. With Medicaid it's free, out of pocket it's around $250 for a month. I know a lot of prescriptions are much more than that even. That's not right...
 
There are quite a few children's hospitals here in the US which provide 100% free medical services including surgery and lodging/meals for family members. One of them is St. Jude's in Memphis (founded by Marlo Thomas' father Danny).
 
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reflection4 said:
There are quite a few children's hospitals here in the US which provide 100% free medical services including surgery and lodging/meals for family members. One of them is St. Jude's in Memphis (founded by Marlo Thomas" father Danny).
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And I'm sure the waiting list is very long.
 
mitchezz said:
So some have free Healthcare? I do have private health insurance but my sister who filled out all the paperwork didn't know the details so they admitted me under Medicare (public system). I have private insurance as there are waiting lists for non urgent cases.
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I am receiving disability and medicaid insurance and pay no medical bills or medication bills or treatment bills. You have to be qualified to receive disability here; diagnosed by a doctor.
 
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