hospital bill

[genrex]

My doctor recently put me on a blood-pressure med. During the first day on the med, I felt slightly dizzy while driving, and I went to the nearest ER. I was admitted to the ER, and 3 hours later I was released because everything checked out fine. The ER did an EKG, a chest x-ray, and a blood draw. Other than that, I just relaxed and watched television with the usual IV in my wrist.

The total unadjusted bill came to $3185.

After the insurance adjustment of $2195, the total bill was $990.

My health insurance paid $778, and my balance due is $212.

Because of my health insurance, the total bill was $990. I assume a person without health insurance would be billed $3185. Do hospitals really charge uninsured people so much more?

That doesn't make sense.

[Geronimo '74]

Very expensive indeed!

Keep in mind that those costs cover the keeping in state of readiness of the entire emergency room, nurses, doctors, equipment....
Compared to your needs it seems over the top, and maybe it is.
But they need to be able to help people with much graver and more urgent injuries as well. (luckily your problem turned out ok)

Were you allowed to drive while on BP medicine??? Did the doc tell you dizziness could be a side effect?? With BP medicine it usually is...
So maybe a visit to the ER was not really necessary.


Can't really comment whether people with no insurance pay full price, I'm not familiar with the system there.

[genrex]

I probably over-reacted by going to the ER. Sitting and relaxing in the ER parking lot may have been the sensible thing to do. The nurse was really sexy and suddenly my b.p. didn't want to settle down..

(insert joke here)

[flatbutt]

I've had the same experience several times. With insurance I paid a couple of hundred, without insurance it is thousands. So if you dont have the coverage you pay full boat, apparently it helps cover the indigent costs.

[ben parrish]

You can negotiate to Medicare rates if you do not have insurance..I have done this in the past with 100% success. My sister, who is a VP at a hospital system, told me of this years ago. When people ignore the bills and hide their heads in the sand, wheels are set in motion and things get much more complicated.

[widgeon13]

Didn't your doctor or pharmacist caution you that there would be some mild side effects from the drug, dizziness was most likely one of the side effects.

I have taken two bp meds over the last ten years, Altace, which gave me a dry throat cough and then I switched to Benicar 5mg daily which is a light dose. Doctor says it's just for precautionary measure to keep me below the mild hypertensive level.

I'm making a commitment to exercise more to try and get off the med. It's a PITA when i go for my flight physical, FAA doesn't like bp meds, they think you are going to have the big one at 10,000 ft.

In 2006 I was at a emergency drill in full turnout gear, it was about 85 degrees and high humidity. Needless to say, I became dehydrated and passed out briefly, was taken to the hospital, stayed overnight for some tests, no problems, released the next day. Bill was over 5 grand.

Hospitals and ER's suck! Hope you are feeling better and staying away from the ER.

Just out of curiosity, how old are you if I may ask. I'm 63 and almost everyone I know around that age is on BP meds. I'm wondering if this stuff isn't over prescribed in my cases.

[Joeaksa]

Dont you guys realize that you paying for all of those illegal aliens that never go to the doctors office but head immediately for the ER when sick? As they have no insurance and cannot pay, YOU and I get to foot the bill!

Just think about that the next time you ask how illegals in our country effect our lives!

[Nathans_Dad]

Originally Posted by genrex

My doctor recently put me on a blood-pressure med. During the first day on the med, I felt slightly dizzy while driving, and I went to the nearest ER. I was admitted to the ER, and 3 hours later I was released because everything checked out fine. The ER did an EKG, a chest x-ray, and a blood draw. Other than that, I just relaxed and watched television with the usual IV in my wrist.

The total unadjusted bill came to $3185.

After the insurance adjustment of $2195, the total bill was $990.

My health insurance paid $778, and my balance due is $212.

Because of my health insurance, the total bill was $990. I assume a person without health insurance would be billed $3185. Do hospitals really charge uninsured people so much more?

That doesn't make sense.

The answer to your question is no. See, Medicare has completely screwed up the medical billing system. Yes, our wonderful government at work again. Medicare says that it will pay X percentage of what you charge. Therefore, if you really need to get $900 for that ER visit you have to charge $3000. If you charged $900, then medicare would only pay you $200. See?

[porsche4life]

I assume it is like in the Pharmacy... Cash prices are negotiated differently...

[legion]

Originally Posted by genrex

The total unadjusted bill came to $3185.

After the insurance adjustment of $2195, the total bill was $990.

My health insurance paid $778, and my balance due is $212.

Because of my health insurance, the total bill was $990. I assume a person without health insurance would be billed $3185. Do hospitals really charge uninsured people so much more?

That doesn't make sense.

No. The bill was grossly inflated, so that an insurance "discount" could be shown. People with private insurance actually end up paying the most, because they are subsidizing people on Medicare/Medicaid. If you were paying cash, you could have negotiated down to what the service actually cost the hospital to render, which would have been less than what they bill private insurance for.

[LUFTMAN]

People do not know what insurance covers till you go to use it many loopholes for insurance companies to escape.you must be a lawyer to figure it out. Copays, deductibles etc.. I have had a heart transplant in aug. 2009 was insured by united healthcare. And i cannot complaign but for 3 years of other treatment priop i had to pay out maximun deductible ($9,000.00) out of pocket till insurance picked up the rest. Now after transplant a cotract ended they will not insure a individaul .so you must find a co. That will take a individual . Man y of them out there but will not give a pre-existing condition person any major medical coverage now unemployed and bad economy i was able to get on social security disability after 37 years of paying into the program. But the amount the give you is based on last 18 months of prior salary.years previous with bad economy i lost $10,000.00 a year so my amount of disabillity was based on that. So it is hard to pay bills on $20,000.00 a year . So recently i had to pay $24,000.00 because of minimun health care available to me so i must sell all my assets mutual fund account and personal items to pay bills. Currently broke trying to find a job that pays more than ssdi but nothing out there i am happy to be alive due to technology but now i must find a way to pay for ongoing hospital visits for the rest of my life again i do not want a handout i have never collected unemployment after 38 years of work. Some people think i am milking ssdi but i want to work when i am fully recovered. Medical bills still come in every day biopsy $3,800.00 each time 5 so far bloddwork every week $770.75 meds. $450.00 a month so my concern is that the country needs insurance co. Reform and drug co. Reform one drug i take $975.00 a month but most people like our system because they are not sick. When it happens to them then they will find out. Only 53 so many more years to live (hopefully) and to try to keep up with medical bills. But no. 1 concern very very happy to be here. I wish other people good luck on there medical condition. And better luck than me on paying there bills. Best regards tom

[john70t]

Medical vacation to India, Thailand or Mexico.
1/10th the cost.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by LUFTMAN

People do not know what insurance covers till you go to use it many loopholes for insurance companies to escape.you must be a lawyer to figure it out. Copays, deductibles etc.. I have had a heart transplant in aug. 2009 was insured by united healthcare. And i cannot complaign but for 3 years of other treatment priop i had to pay out maximun deductible ($9,000.00) out of pocket till insurance picked up the rest. Now after transplant a cotract ended they will not insure a individaul .so you must find a co. That will take a individual . Man y of them out there but will not give a pre-existing condition person any major medical coverage now unemployed and bad economy i was able to get on social security disability after 37 years of paying into the program. But the amount the give you is based on last 18 months of prior salary.years previous with bad economy i lost $10,000.00 a year so my amount of disabillity was based on that. So it is hard to pay bills on $20,000.00 a year . So recently i had to pay $24,000.00 because of minimun health care available to me so i must sell all my assets mutual fund account and personal items to pay bills. Currently broke trying to find a job that pays more than ssdi but nothing out there i am happy to be alive due to technology but now i must find a way to pay for ongoing hospital visits for the rest of my life again i do not want a handout i have never collected unemployment after 38 years of work. Some people think i am milking ssdi but i want to work when i am fully recovered. Medical bills still come in every day biopsy $3,800.00 each time 5 so far bloddwork every week $770.75 meds. $450.00 a month so my concern is that the country needs insurance co. Reform and drug co. Reform one drug i take $975.00 a month but most people like our system because they are not sick. When it happens to them then they will find out. Only 53 so many more years to live (hopefully) and to try to keep up with medical bills. But no. 1 concern very very happy to be here. I wish other people good luck on there medical condition. And better luck than me on paying there bills. Best regards tom

I'm sorry for your troubles. It's tragic and it happens a lot.
A good friend has an illness that requires 8 treatments a year costing $4000 each time. She lost her $85k/year job because she was too sick to work, over the years she sold everything she had. Now she "lives" on $12,000 a year from SSI. It's criminal. Health insurance companies will take your premiums for decades, but if you get too sick to work they don't want to know your name. Seems like the smart thing to do is cut out the middle man. Never get health insurance, go straight to indigency after the first illness, and live off the SSI. We really needed health insurance reform. After all the to-do about it a few months ago, we STILL need health insurance reform.

[rcooled]

A visit to the doctor's office is similar. Say the doc bills your insurance co. $5K for an outpatient service. Your insurer says they'll pay $3K. The doc then gets to write off the $2K difference as a business loss and knock down his tax bill a bit. This may or may not be completely accurate but it was told to me by a friend who was in the medical field for many years. Also, it's the inflated cost that's charged against your insurance's lifetime benefit cap if your policy has one, causing you to exhaust your coverage that much sooner.

[Tobra]

The above post is mostly nonsense. $2K biz loss on taxes. If that were true, I would get a $100k refund every year.

[URY914]

And gov't healthcare will fix all this?

[RWebb]

it has already fixed some of it

[legion]

Originally Posted by Tobra

The above post is mostly nonsense. $2K biz loss on taxes. If that were true, I would get a $100k refund every year.

Just because you are an honest doctor doesn't mean they all are. I've dealt with some that like to unbundle and put a 59 modifier on ever line. (For example, billing for an office visit with every date of service.)

It doesn't surprise me in the least that some doctors would do this, but it's probably the same ones that pull other billing shenanigans.

[pavulon]

Maybe...but I see far more "american" folks fully capable of getting a job (but refuse) with a boat, new 4-wheeler, "I gots ta hunt" mentality and/or 5-10 poorly kept kids with a 3-foot chip on their shoulder and medicaid (or nothing). I'll grant the nearest border to me is north 150 miles but this country has PLENTY of leeches.

Originally Posted by Joeaksa

Dont you guys realize that you paying for all of those illegal aliens that never go to the doctors office but head immediately for the ER when sick? As they have no insurance and cannot pay, YOU and I get to foot the bill!

Just think about that the next time you ask how illegals in our country effect our lives!

[Joeaksa]

Originally Posted by porsche4life

I assume it is like in the Pharmacy... Cash prices are negotiated differently...

So if I walk up and want to pay cash for medications, whats the best way to work it?