We
got our bill from the hospital for the emergency room treatment I
received the night I got snake bit.
Right
here is a perfect example of why I resisted going to the emergency
room. This is also a perfect example of how our health care
system in this country is broken. We are uninsured, though that
doesn't necessarily mean unable to pay for general treatment as long
as it is reasonably priced for value received.
It's
the catastrophic things that would do us in, but as I understand it,
the catastrophic things undo you financially whether you are insured
or not.
We
arrived at the emergency room 6:30ish and they started the process of
sending me home about 11:30. During that time the doctor
examined my foot, they drew blood for tests and hooked me up to an
IV, started fluids, gave me a tetanus shot, hauled my ass to
the bathroom when I had to pee, gave me the minimum dose of morphine,
drew more blood, doctor came in and talked to me, more morphine, and
sent me home.
Because
we are uninsured, they voluntarily brought us the paperwork for the
charity that helps pay for medical care and they did, in fact, pay
for most of it, or rather, most of the amount was deducted from the
final bill. (I don't know if I will get a separate bill from the
doctor, haven't so far, but I do know that that is SOP.)
Here's
the bill:
Description Unit Amount
Tubing
admin 2C6537 1 $119.50
I
think this must be for act of giving me the IV
Tubing
ext 2 N3378 1 $21.25
this
is for when they drew blood the second time
SOD
CHLOR INJ 10MLAM 4 $81.00 (20.25 ea)
they
injected a small amount of sterile saline solution in my IV prior to
giving me pain meds and I guess they used it the two times they drew
blood as well
HYDROCODONE
5MG 4 $37.00 (9.25 ea)
contrast
the exact same pills we bought at the pharmacy the next day 15 for
$12 (80¢ ea)
VENIPUNCTURE 1 $13.39
the needle for the second blood draw
CREATINE
KINASE 1 $233.50
blood test looking for an enzyme or the effects of the enzyme
important in muscle contraction
TSH 1 $337.25
blood
test looking for thyroid hormone levels because I am on meds for that
but when I get my blood test done at the doctor's office, this test
with a cholesterol test usually runs me about $150 including the
visit to get my blood drawn
CBC
W/ AUTO DIFF 2 $428.00 (214.00 ea)
complete
blood count including the different types of white blood cells, done
by a machine
PROTIME 2 $231.50
(115.75 ea)
blood
test to determine how long it takes blood to clot
ER
VISIT LEVEL 3 1 $962.75
apparently
if they take you back and put you in a room you've automatically
racked up nearly $1000
IV
INF HYDR EA ADD HR 4 $762.00 (190.50 ea)
intravenous
nutritional fluids which they have listed as 4 but they only used one
bag so maybe it's not priced by the bag but by the hour
IMMUNIZATION
ADM 1 VACC 1 $97.75
I
think this is the charge for giving me the tetanus shot, for the act
of sticking the needle in my arm and pushing the plunger
KIT
IV PREP 1 $46.25
the
stuff they used to give me the IV
CATHLON
20GA 1 $66.50
I
think this must be the tubing that went with the IV and nutritional
fluids
TD
INJ, 7YR/> 1 $48.75
the
actual tetanus/diphtheria vaccine
MORPHINE
2MG/ML TUBEX 2 $19.50 (9.75 ea)
the
pain meds injected in the IV
SALINE
1000ML 2B 1324 1 $171.75
not
sure as there is already a charge for saline solution, perhaps this
is the actual stuff and the previous charge listed for was the act
of using it. seems pricey for sterile salt water
COMPRE
METABOLIC PANEL 1 $472.50
blood
work for kidney function, liver
function, and electrolytes
CK
MB 1 $288.25
another
blood test for creatine kinase but more specifically involving the
heart muscle as it relates to myocardial
infarction
TROPONIN
QUANT 1 $295.75
blood
test for three regulatory proteins of the heart muscle
FIBRINOGEN
ACTIVITY 2 $287.00 (143.50 ea)
a
blood test for the protein that is
essential for blood clot formation
PTT 2 $293.00
(146.50)
another
test to see how long it takes blood to clot
TX/DX
IVP EA ADD SAME 1 $83.00
some
sort of re-do of the item listed below?
TX/DX
IVP INIT DRUG 1 $323.25
if
I've decoded this one correctly it means treatment/diagnosis
IVP - intravenous
pyelogram is a type of x-ray examination specifically designed to
study the kidneys, bladder, and ureters by injecting a dye into a
vein. They DID NOT do this.
PATIENT
PAYMENT CHECK - $100.00
TOTAL
CHARGES $5,720.39
FINANCIAL
MEANS ASSISTANCE - $5,148.35
ACCOUNT
BALANCE DUE FROM PATIENT $ 472.04
So,
my father was a pathologist and I know that these standard blood
tests are done by machines. Yes, they need the lab techs to put the
blood in the vials or tubes or whatever and put them in the machines
and push the start buttons, but these are basically automated
actions. There is no legitimate reason for these common tests to
cost so much. Judging by the fact that they charged me $9.25 for a
pill we paid 80¢ for at the pharmacy and the almost $150 for the
tetanus shot and the $337 for TSH (thyroid) that costs me less than
half that and includes a cholesterol panel as well when I get it done
at the doctor's office, I think I can say with certainty that these
charges are way over-blown. Not to mention the $400 in charges for something I don't think they did.
And
they wonder why poor people can't pay their medical bills.
One thing that surprised me from working with executives and doctors (I was the assistant) was how much welfare these guys receive. One man was mad that he had to pay a portion of not the tuition, but the living costs, of his son who was going to MIT. Another was upset because he paid $40 in taxes one year, saying he usually paid nothing. This was with a $400,000 yearly salary and only two kids. While he paid only $40, I paid almost $2000 on a $60,000 salary. Oh, I could go on but the point is the system certainly sucks.
ReplyDeleteWe're broken. And some of us are just broke because of it.
ReplyDeleteYep.
This is truly and honestly a travesty.
This is just an example of the whole total brokenness not only of the medical system but the whole song and dance.
ReplyDeleteWell, you got me beat. Last emergency room visit I had cost me $2700, and the attending physician's bill was $700. I had pulled a muscle in my back, after two weeks couldn't handle not sleeping and couldn't stand the pain anymore. Resisted going in because I knew the bill would obscene. All I wanted was a Vicodine and a muscle relaxer so I could sleep and let my body heal itself.
ReplyDeleteWell, they figured kidney stone, put me through the CT scanner (gave me a good dose of radiation), blood and urine test, etc. Doc spent all of two minutes asking me questions, told me I pulled a muscle, wrote a scrip and sent me home.
It doesn't help that I already have a very low opinion of doctors, I mean, how much credit can you give a mechanic that works on self-healing machines?
Nurses, though, they are the best. Replace the doctors with cheap robots as far as I am concerned, but you need those nurses.
They should only charge what the price that would be negotiated with an ins co. Not full price.
ReplyDeleteThen, get the discount.
I don't think they did that. I think they did full with you.
Absolutely terrible ...
it is truly a travesty. those that pay cash are penalized for not being a 'managed care' plan - totally bogus. i hate it all...
ReplyDeleteNO argument that it's a travesty. What you're paying for are all the charges and profit margin NOT being paid for by managed care plans, medicare/medicaid and everyone else that the hospital treats under negotiated rates.
ReplyDeleteSo...when I was out of work, paying for my own healthcare insurance and bills on my own, a routine doctor visit with some tests (bloodwork, an X-ray) cost me $1,100. Six months later, employed again and on my company's health plan, the identical visit cost $35. An emergency auto accident patient who came in about the same time, and had no insurance OR money, paid $0, according to the accounting clerk.
Two guesses as to who makes up the difference? And nope, they only negotiate to get the business, and make up the profits on volume. Individual insureds don't get that...unless they want to join an HMO and pay a few hundred more per month.
The day that health care became profit-managed (and often publicly traded) organizations was a very sad day.
I'm glad you're OK. Blood tests are expensive. Even for pets. It's kind of silly really. The problem is they can charge the insurance company for it, so the costs get inflated. When we were off of insurance for awhile, it was cheaper to see the doctor and just pay for it directly vs. what they charged the insurance company. Sure while we were insured, $10 came out of our pocket vs. the $70 we were charged when we weren't insured. Still, the charge didn't look like the $100 that she had been charging our insurance. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteYou think this is bad. My dad's neighbor had the money to pay for his wife's cancer treatment, but the hospital said he couldn't do it directly. They would only take the payment from the insurance company, but they refused to pay for it. That's broken.
Whoa.. that's outrageous. I feel very lucky to be Canadian.
ReplyDeleteInsurance was one of my incentives to go back to work.I get a free single policy which is nice.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I live in Australia where it's not ideal but it's not nearly as bad as this bill suggests.
ReplyDeleteI hear ya. My hubby had a ct scan...cost...$11,000.00. WTH!!!!
ReplyDeleteInsurance paid 80%. Sigh!!!
Hugs
SUeAnn
Yep - definitely broken!
ReplyDeletebefore I finally got the medicare for disabled people I lived in fear of needing the emergency room
ReplyDeletefor this very reason
they're horribly overpriced and unbelievably inefficent and they do nothing to change their practices
a neighbor is fighting to keep her home right now because of medical costs and she is insured
it's great that the charity care helped, I was turned down twice and was in the midst of waiting for an appeal hearing when the medicare came through
of course depending on the results in November I could end up uninsured again before I manage to get one surgery scheduled
I'm glad you're OK, for so many they're not
there is a better way but all the powers that be are too busy bickering over positions of power
hugs
This is why people who can't afford insurance hesitate to go to an ER when they really need to. You definitely needed to go and I am glad you did, in spite of the inflated bill.
ReplyDeleteOUCH!
ReplyDeleteCynthia's right: What you're paying for are all the charges and profit margin NOT being paid for by managed care plans, medicare/medicaid and everyone else that the hospital treats under negotiated rates.
ReplyDeleteBut no one knows what it truly costs. I wrote about this April 3rd, too. Do you think that something is in the air?
As my hand surgeon told me : You can't figure it out. The numbers are all made up.
a/b
You have that all down nicely...too bad it cost so much; they think we're all made out of money...
ReplyDeleteNext time, tell the snake to bite someone else...Was there any repercussions from the bite? I assume you did not know what type of snake and that is why you went to emergency?
Wow.
ReplyDeleteJust wow.
Bit on the foot, and then bit on the @ss.
That just sucks, doesn't it?
So glad I live in the U.K.
ReplyDeleteThe National Health Service sometimes gets a bad Press (Our newspapers sensationalise) but it is manned by dedicated nurses and doctors. It has layers and layers of 'managers' (totally non-productive) who drain the funds by being overpaid but it is still a fine institution.
It brings peace of mind - how can your country deny you all that blessing?
I am glad I don't live in the US. I'd be dead anyway.
ReplyDeleteNo good.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad we have free health care in our social democratic regime. There are good and bad facets of it, but I appreciate the (almost) free health care >:)
Cold As Heaven