Guess the cost of my Hospital Bill for my 15 minute procedure?

[DarkSideR]

I recently had an Upper G.I. done (scoped my throat). The procedure took 15 minutes. Doctors bill $199.00 + Hospital bill of $713.12. This is my out of pocket expenses after insurance. Now for the crazy part.. Total cost of the 15 minute procedure - over $8,000!

[The emperor has no clothes]

Scoped me a couple years ago and my part was $1500. It's pretty sly the way they did it too. Had the appt. for a couple weeks in preparation for it. When the time comes they get me all ready and in the bed for the scope , right before they go to knock me out they come in with the paperwork to sign and tell me it's gonna be $1500 out of pocket. Not that I would have backed out, just thought it was kind of crappy the way they do that.

[ugelstad]

They must have Harleys to pay for.

[The emperor has no clothes]

They must have Harleys to pay for.

I'm thinking Ferrari's

[RainMaker]

Medical bills always seem extraordinary.  Glad you had the insurance.

My last visit to the hospital was $62K, $2K out of pocket.  But that was with the "bad insurance" per the Obamacare folks that didn't meet the ACA requirements.  

Thank goodness I now have "good" insurance at only twice the price. Thank you, thank you, Mr. President!!!!

[Jack]

It is like a guy told me one time, "The bill aint for how long or how hard the job is but knowing which screw to turn."
I doubt you would want a "low-bidder" on that procedure.

[The emperor has no clothes]

It is like a guy told me one time, "The bill aint for how long or how hard the job is but knowing which screw to turn."
I doubt you would want a "low-bidder" on that procedure.

[MAD6Gun]

It is like a guy told me one time, "The bill aint for how long or how hard the job is but knowing which screw to turn."
I doubt you would want a "low-bidder" on that procedure.

Remember that next time you take your car to a dealer for repairs. I have to deal with that crap all the time. "It didn't take you that long to perform the repair". "Your right. But how long would it take YOU to do the repair".

[Spirited-6]

I had a "wellness" exam, followed with a "CT" Monday. Plus a follow up with my ASS Dr.
First charge :406. 2nd 949. 3rd, god I don`t know, $40. out of pocket...So after Aprox. 2,000 I don`t know what the hell is wrong with me. OH, that comes later ! I guess we can wait for the right words that make us feel better.  

Follow Up ! Had my follow up with my Ass / Kidney Dr. Waited one hour for him to tell me I had no blood in my piss. $40.00 co-pay for 10 minute of his time. Ins. will be billed MUCH more , I`m sure. I`m to the point that what does matter, you can not control it. O well, bend over, again. 

[bigguy]

Back in the 80s, my sister was a scrub nurse in a small town hospital. She was showing me around the operating room when she picked up a box of bandaids and said, "This is $100.00." I knew for a fact that you could by that box at a local store for less than $10.00.
Seeing my look of incredulity, she explained that there was 100 bandaids in that box and the hospital charged $1.00 every time they applied one.

[Bighead]

One big reason hospital bills are so high is liability cost.

[DIGGER]

One big reason hospital bills are so high is liability cost.

My wife is a RN.........main reason bills are so high is that a Hospital HAS TO MAKE MONEY to exist.  There are so many that can't or don't pay for services that they have to charge those who can pay a lot of money in order to offset the ones who can't pay.    If the Hospital doesn't make a profit they can't exist.    Problem is there a whole lot more who can't pay than those that can pay. 

[Valker]

One big reason hospital bills are so high is BECAUSE of insurance. That's how they get away with charging $5 for Tylenol pills.
Many hospitals have two price lists, one for those with insurance and one for those without.

[Grumpy]

I will trade you, my motorcycle accident in Jan, hospital  $98,860.45, surgeon $19,000.00  Office visits to the surgeon $5400.00 . Now starting Therapy schedules for 8 visits at $150 per visit.  If not for insurance, I would be in deep dodo.

[G-Man]

It is like a guy told me one time, "The bill aint for how long or how hard the job is but knowing which screw to turn."
I doubt you would want a "low-bidder" on that procedure.

[DarkSideR]

I will trade you, my motorcycle accident in Jan, hospital  $98,860.45, surgeon $19,000.00  Office visits to the surgeon $5400.00 . Now starting Therapy schedules for 8 visits at $150 per visit.  If not for insurance, I would be in deep dodo.

No thanks, I will keep the crazy 15 minute procedure costs.

[Tx Bohemian]

I will trade you, my motorcycle accident in Jan, hospital  $98,860.45, surgeon $19,000.00  Office visits to the surgeon $5400.00 . Now starting Therapy schedules for 8 visits at $150 per visit.  If not for insurance, I would be in deep dodo.

Yep, kinda like my wife after her M/C accident. The cheapest surgery she had on her leg was $65K.  And she had 6 surgeries on it before it finally healed!!
We had $2500 deductible at the time.  Between the leg and her bout with breast cancer (which happened at the same time) for the couple of years following by Feb we already reached our "out of pocket", so things got really cheap for us!

[tank_post142]

Bill: my hospital visit was about the same as yours. unfortunately my insurance didn't kick in till 3 days after the accident.

[Davemn]

Does anyone here think that the Dr that cured your cancer or replaced your worn out knee is overpaid? I didn't think so.

[Serk]

I will trade you, my motorcycle accident in Jan, hospital  $98,860.45, surgeon $19,000.00  Office visits to the surgeon $5400.00 . Now starting Therapy schedules for 8 visits at $150 per visit.  If not for insurance, I would be in deep dodo.

Hehehe, sure, I'll trade ya'! You should see all the digits to the left of the decimal point for having triplets that spent a month in NICU...    I thought that was a phone number with a $ in front of it at first...

[wobray]

OK, here is how the extraordinary high bills come to be.

The hospital SAYS they charged 8K for this procedure and sends a bill to your insurance company for the same amount. Your copay and possible percentages of out of pocket owed is based on the inflated amount.
The truth: The hospital has previously negotiated with the insurance company what percentage of the bill they will be payed by the insurance company.
The insurance company probably paid about 1500 to the hospital and the hospital of course keeps the copay and anything else they collected from the patient.
I've been dealing with this hocus pocus for 32 years. The COST of health care has been going down for decades. The so called increase in healthcare costs comes from many more people accessing health care. Especially the ones who get everything FREE.. And the medicaid people REALLY use the healthcare system.
Continues to piss me off!!!

[Challenger]

The 36 hour hospital stay and implant surgery for my wifes ICD came to a little over $248,000, My out of pocket was $5000.00. If I didn't have insurance, I would have found a way to pay it. It reminded me of the motorcycle mechanic that was questioning his heart doctors outrageous bill. he said I can remove the carb (which is the heart of the bike) and rebuild it, Reinstall it and tune it to run like brand new and I only get $80.00 an hour. The Doctor looked at him and said, "Yea, but can you do it while it is running?"   

[John Schmidt]

My insurance is the same policy I had while still working for the State of Fla., and is kinda pricey. Goes by the name of Av Med, not the same policy you would get if you walked in off the street. This one contracted through the State is not available in that manner. AvMed contracts with all the various providers for a specific amount for specific codes. There have been a few times a provider, usually a specialist, has tried to collect the difference from me and I just turn it over the AvMed. They quickly tell the provider the contract calls for XXX dollars and they are prevented from collecting from the patient. With Medicare paying about the first 80%, the results are automatically sent to AvMed, who pays the balance. Since I went on Medicare I've not paid any copays for either myself or my wife....ten years next month since I retired at 66.  My total collection of bills in 2012 for my heart attack was well over $1mil, including all the followups, home nursing, physical therapy, the whole nine yards which included a five week hospital stay. The first ten days in a coma and under bedside care with 14 monitors hooked up and pumping stuff in me. My total cash outlay after all was said and done: ZERO. It costs me about $550/month for family coverage plus our Medicare which is another $94.xx each. It's pricey, but we have access to the same providers we've had for the last 25+ years. I'll never go to the Obamacare fiasco if I don't have to. I wouldn't save any money on premiums and my out-of-pocket would go up substantially. Plus, I wouldn't have access to the same drs., I've already checked on that. Plus, in case of an emergency like I had in 2012, most likely I would have been made "comfortable" for as long as I lasted. Again, I've talked to some of the drs. that were involved in my treatment and they all told me services such as I received are more limited now when reviewed through the new UnAffordable Care Act. To say I'm thankful would be an undestatement.

[Gavin_Sons]

When our first son was born he spent 4 weeks in the NICU. Got home with him and started getting bills. Our out of pocket was 3500. Had we not had insurance $746,000. Yes almost 3/4 of a million dollars. 2 surgerys and lots of tests. I couldnt believe the amount they charge for a simple blood test. One blood test cost 5 grand and they would do 2 a day. I watched some of the hospital employees give free hotel rooms, gas cards and a bunch of other free stuff to other families. We never got anything. They talked to us about how much money we made and right away said we made too much and couldnt help us out with anything. I told them that is fine because I never asked for their help and I was too proud of what I worked for to take their hand outs.

[old2soon]

Women called a plumber to her house to get a backed up sink working again. He looked at the sink then went into the basement and took his hammer out and rapped on a pipe. Went back upstairs and looked and turned on the water and it ran down the drain like it was supposed to. The women told the plumber-mail me a bill please to which he answered-sure. She got the bill from the plumber a couple of days later. Fixing drains- $179.95. Needless to say the woman was a tad bit upset cause the plumber had only been there 20 minutes. She sent him a letter requesting an itemized bill. Bout a week and a half later the itemized bill arrived. Rapping on pipe-$19.95. KNOWING WHERE to rap on pipe-$160.00. I would very much appreciate my Doctor KNOWING where to rap on pipe!!  RIDE SAFE.

[Big Al of Tennessee]

One big reason hospital bills are so high is liability cost.

Bingo, you win a cookie.

It's outrageous because the Drs. screw up a lot.

Drs. kill more folks than Guns. Statistically speaking.

[Rams]

One big reason hospital bills are so high is liability cost.

I can understand that but, I have to admit I was surprised when I got the bill for a 15 minute helicopter (medevac) ride for $28,000+.      I guess I was paying for them to be there waiting for me.   

[Bighead]

One big reason hospital bills are so high is liability cost.

My wife is a RN.........main reason bills are so high is that a Hospital HAS TO MAKE MONEY to exist.  There are so many that can't or don't pay for services that they have to charge those who can pay a lot of money in order to offset the ones who can't pay.    If the Hospital doesn't make a profit they can't exist.    Problem is there a whole lot more who can't pay than those that can pay. 

Digger if you will notice I said ONE reason there are many reasons. I have worked as a medical Professional for the past 30 years and I work for a surgeon now used to work for the hospital. It is a Very large not for profit hospital and makes money hand over fist. (They have to spend it all on renovations and so forth to not show a profit)  they in fact have bought 7 hospitals and two surgery centers in the past 10-15 year period.We have our fair share of no pay patients and yes they get the same treatment as anyone else. People are so sue happy over anything a Drs malpractice insurance premiums are staggering. So Liability is ONE big reason. And yes a. $10 Tylenol is ridiculous.

[cookiedough]

I know one person who's mom and sister both died in a year or so apart because of neglect or incompetency at their local hospital.  The family sued the hospital and got 100's of thousands of dollars.  Still doesn't bring their mom and sister back though.

I had a neurologist do a prick test with needles on my right hand thinking I had carpal tunnel.  All he did was hook up push pins in my skin and zap my arm hooked up to a laptop to measure some sort of electrode results.  All it took was 15 minutes tops.  I was thinking that 5-6 pricks of the needle and bug zapper shock would be total of 300 bucks tops, if that.  Much to my surprise the insurance got billed out for 800 bucks with me paying 20% of that.  UNREAL.    I can easily stick needles into my own arms for that kind of money. 

Next time for ANYTHING I am going to get a pre-estimate of what they bill insurance for.  It wasn't my idea but my regular drs. idea to get the test done since I still have tingling in my right hand/fingers for past few years or more.   By the time I went to dr. 2x's and 3 chiropractor visits,  I shelled out over 600 bucks out of pocket for NOTHING and no good answer besides is my best guess pinched nerves in my back/upper right shoulder blade and a chiro did help but had enough since chiro visits are not covered at all under our insurance and at 70 bucks for 2 minutes of work a few snaps of the neck and back and done is not my cup of tea.   

Then Dr. wanted to do MRI of my spine costing me a TON more.  I said skip it, I wasted enough money for nothing.  the xrays came back negative so doubt an MRI will show anything different yet wasting money even more.  that is how the drs. make money and keep their lights on they suggest procedures that may or may not be relevant in order to keep the clinic open and so the drs. have enough money to take their yearly vacation to the bahamas. 

[MP]

"Then Dr. wanted to do MRI of my spine costing me a TON more.  I said skip it, I wasted enough money for nothing.  the xrays came back negative so doubt an MRI will show anything different yet wasting money even more. "

Not sure about that, cookie dough.  My neck has been sore/stiff for several years.  I went, got x-ray done. Diagnosis was pretty bad bone spurs, and fuzing was only way to stop pain.  It is hard to turn my head.  I told him no, that I needed as  much turning as possible, for bike riding to see.  I would put up with the pain as long as possible.

Later, another Dr. suggested I get MRI done.  I did that.  Went to the specialist to get the MRI read.  He said the bones in my neck were really in very good shape for 59 yrs old.  No sign of bone spurs.  That the pain was in the muscles of my neck, not in the bone structure.

So, the MRI can "see" a LOT better than an x-ray.

MP

[donaldcc]

So, the MRI can "see" a LOT better than an x-ray.

MP

  Agree.  MRI (and CT)  can "see" spine, knees, shoulders, brain, chest, abdomen etc MUCH better.  Rejection of technology can be a big mistake. 

[Jess from VA]

So, the MRI can "see" a LOT better than an x-ray.

It does... in fact simple Xrays are not even properly diagnostic for spine disease.

However, I've only had xrays, they can shove the cost of an MRI.  It's not like they can do anything about it anyway; and I'll have a laminectomy over my dead body.

I have to shift my butt in my bike seat and turn my upper body to look behind me, I cannot even go 90* in neck turning.  I have tried to perfect leaning forward and looking back under my arms but that's not so hot either.  

[Jess Tolbirt]

when i had my wreck on my bike the hospital charged 22,000 dollars for one MRI..
Bev rode to the hospital with me in the ambulance,, they charged her 2000 dollars for the ride..

[MP]

So, the MRI can "see" a LOT better than an x-ray.

It does... in fact simple Xrays are not even properly diagnostic for spine disease.

However, I've only had xrays, they can shove the cost of an MRI.  It's not like they can do anything about it anyway; and I'll have a laminectomy over my dead body.

I have to shift my butt in my bike seat and turn my upper body to look behind me, I cannot even go 90* in neck turning.  I have tried to perfect leaning forward and looking back under my arms but that's not so hot either.  

Sounds a lot like mine.  However, IF it is determined to be muscle related, vs spine related, you CAN do something about it.  PT can help loosen the neck muscles, so that range of movement is improved.  Not cured, but improved.

MP

[Jess from VA]

So, the MRI can "see" a LOT better than an x-ray.

It does... in fact simple Xrays are not even properly diagnostic for spine disease.

However, I've only had xrays, they can shove the cost of an MRI.  It's not like they can do anything about it anyway; and I'll have a laminectomy over my dead body.

I have to shift my butt in my bike seat and turn my upper body to look behind me, I cannot even go 90* in neck turning.  I have tried to perfect leaning forward and looking back under my arms but that's not so hot either.  

Sounds a lot like mine.  However, IF it is determined to be muscle related, vs spine related, you CAN do something about it.  PT can help loosen the neck muscles, so that range of movement is improved.  Not cured, but improved.

MP

Well sure, YOU can do something about it (exercise, stretching, yoga, wt loss, yada, even with spine disease), but there is not much the ortho surgeons can do but cut.  Self help works for my low back  (Lspine), esp just walking/tredmill, but not for my neck (Cspine).  The feedback I get from attempts on my neck are.... don't do that!!!

[Spirited-6]

I have one question, WHAT THE HELL ARE WE DOING ABOUT THIS OVER CHARGEN ?We all bitch and complain and do nothing to correct. I`m at a lost of what we can do ! Hurry, I don`t have a lot of time left. 

[Jess from VA]

I'm doing my part.  I just stopped going to doctors for anything (I do need a dentist once in a while).

[Patrick]

Crazy isn't it !  I don't know yet what the recent kidney stone fiasco will cost, but, just a 15 minute cat-scan was in the $3K neighborhood.

[olddog1946]

One thing I haven't seen mentioned in this thread is the fact that your bill doesn't include just the cost of the Dr.. Your bill also includes the facility use, nursing staff, secretarial staff, and yes malpractice insurance, fire insurance, health insurance for all of the staff, natural disaster insurance, and insurance insurance...   well, anyway a lot of hidden costs.  ALL of them are high, I don't care how much insurance you have. I do know that the bills are far far less if you pay up front out of your pocket. However I know only one person that can do that.

[Jess from VA]

Yep, my last ER for kidney stone was subdivided up into a half dozen or more bills. 

I think they had "shop supplies" just like car/bike dealers charge for using two dirty rags and a shot of brake cleaner. 

This is called specialization, to slip it to you from multiple directions........ yeah that's special.