Is this normal for an Emergency Room visit?

[maxrandb]

Recently, my lovely bride fell coming up the steps to the house. She hit her head and opened a pretty nice gash on her forehead and her glasses also caused a small cut on her nose. Of course it bleeds like hell, and she didn't want to go to the ER, but I looked at the depth of the cut on her forehead and convinced her she needed to go.

We were at the ER for approximately 2.5 hours. It was a particularly slow day. They gave her a tetanus shot, some lidocain(sp), cleaned the wounds, and stitched them up. 3 internal and 11 external stitches in the forehead, 3 stitches on her nose. No X-rays, no additional medication, no admittance. That was it. A total of 17 stitches, a tetanus shot, some lidocain, a couple of peices of gauze and tape...and in about 2 hours, we were on our way.

My insurance covers this type of thing, but we were joking about how it would probably cost a couple hundred dollars for the treatment she received. Boy were we wrong. About a week later, we get the bill from the hospital, or I should say, the report of their charges and what was paid. The cost of this little 2 hour excursion was $1428.67!!!!

It was not itemized, so I don't know what the breakdown was, but you know, if you did not have insurance, there is no way you could pay that type of bill. I was, to say the least, shocked. I guess being in the military, I never considered the cost of medical care.

If it cost $1400 for a few stitches and a shot, what the hell does it cost if your kid breaks an arm?

Can any knowledgeable DU medical types tell me if this is typical of an ER bill? This was just our local hospital in a middle class section of town. It's not like we were at Johns-Hoplins or the MAYO Clinic. I was floored when I opened that envelope. I can't imagine what it must be like for those without coverage.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

1. How else do you think they fund

the non-paying people?

Insurance fraud? Most likely, but they turn a blind eye to it.

[SmokingJacket]

4. A vicious circle

because the high prices create more non-payers...

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

14. well, yes... but they don't care

and that is the entire problem

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

2. Yup. Quite normal.

If you are uninsured, you are likely to be billed 3-4 times what the hospitals bill the insurance companies for the same procedure. Why? Because the insurance companies lowball the hospitals to such an extent that the hospitals feel that they have to take it out of the hide of someone. That someone is the uninsured.

I understand disputing the bill is an effective tactic. I have no direct experience with such a thing.

[ChenZhen]

58. Actually seems quite low

I just cut my index finger through the nail at about 1.5 cm long, but not so deep. I only went because I had roofing tar in the finger. Total bill was over $2,000 for under 2 hours, and ONLY 2 stitches! Unbelievable.

Of course, I am uninsured so maybe thats the difference.

Also, they double charged me for the cleaning and stitching, which brought the bill down by half when I pointed that out, then I pleaded an inability to pay the rest. They then "wrote-off" a substantial amount of it (which they deduct from taxes--happens ALL THE TIME), and outsourced the remaining $400 to a medical collection agency. Strange...they are normally happy to get anything if they can write off tons. They save more on taxes treating me than what I paid them.

Funny thing was I asked the ER Nurse practitioner working on me (yes, they won't pay a real doctor to work the ER) if he would of went to the ER if this happened to him. He said probably but cut himself off and said no, since he didn't have insurance. Yes, they wanted to bill me $2000 for 2 stitches from a NP that the hospital doesn't give medical benifits too...

Anyway, next time I got a nail stuck in my arm, I went to the store instead of the ER (first I went to the firestation who wouldn't do anything because of liability). I bought some alcohol (drinking and application), and went to work with a pair of pliers.

Somethings gotta give. Our world, the one they don't know about, don't care about, has a seething anger and hatred brewing beneath it. It will boil over if this shit isnt addressed.

[shraby]

3. Tell them you want an itemized bill.

My husband was charged one time for oxygen he never had.

[mnhtnbb]

12. ABSOLUTELY insist on an itemized bill. See another DU

thread for overcharges.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x794824

I worked in hospital management for many years. There are often all kinds of errors in bills. We routinely had companies sitting with charts in our medical records department auditing the record to match the bill.

But you may also get a second bill from the ER physician group, if the hospital has a contract, because the hospital bill will not include their charges.
Just a heads up.

[maxrandb]

25. I'm not disputing the bill

because our insurance covered the cost. I'm just curious if that amount was "normal". It appears from all the responses to my OP that it is.

[Norquist Nemesis]

42. You still might want to ask for the bill even if your Ins pays it

Inaccurate/false billing that gets paid without question only helps to keep raising insurance costs, and premiums. As long as they can keep getting away with it, the hospitals and insurance companies can make out like bandits and the answer to the consumer is "Well, that's just the cost of doing business."

[youthere]

39. When my youngesthad her tonsils out we were charged for amoxicillin...

that was never given..I KNOW it was never given because my youngest is severely allergic and a dose of it could have killed her.

[jmowreader]

62. Oh, I got a better one...

My old boss, who we will call Mr. Smith, went to the hospital for three weeks. When he got out he demanded an itemized bill. He brought it to work so we could examine it with him.

On it were three entries for "gynecological services." I picked up the phone.

"Could you explain the three gynecological services charges for Jay Smith on bill such-and-such dated this date, this date and this date?"

'Oh, Jay Smith received the finest gynecological services available...' (about ten minutes about how Jay needed all this gyno work.)

"Jay Smith is a man."

'Oh...we'll take that off his bill. Thanks for calling.'

I figure there was a Jean Smith or a Julie Smith in there, and the billing department thought Jay's name was "J. Smith"--you know, an initial.

[AllegroRondo]

5. ask for the itemized bill

you'll be shocked.

ERs charge outrageous prices to those that can pay, even with insurance, because they have to make up for those who cannot.

[orwell]

6. My wife...

...about 1 1/2 hours for a severe headache that had gone on for three days. Total bill was about $3,300.00. Her co-pay was about $150. So no, this is not unusual.

They did do a CT scan which was close to half of the charge.

She is fine now but we never found out the cause. We suspect it was tension as she is an obsessive worker.

[liberal N proud]

7. That is only $571.47/ hour

or $84/stitch on average, I am sure the internal cost more than the external or the other way around

[debbierlus]

8. Yes. Completely normal. And, until they will talk about removing profit

From the healthcare system, we will continued to be screwed...

Where is the DEMAND for a single payer national system that throws out the huge profiteering off the medical system & provides coverage for all?

Any candidate for President who does not propose this is not worth their salt. Most of them are dancing around this issue, not acknowledging until you confront the blatant profiteering off the healthcare system, you can't enact real change. Massachusetts just mandated that all have health insurance, & the state is providing increased aid to make this happen. But, it is a mere band-aid. It does NOTHING to cut costs & it puts the institution and writing of the way coverage will be given right into the HMO's hands! It won't work. You simply can't maintain a system where costs increase 100% every year! We have HORRENDOUS health indicators for spending the largest amount on healthcare in the world. This is yet another example of the have & have not, & it is seriously jeopardizing the financial well being of millions of Americans.

The real issue is wealth disparity, and the way resource are distributed and shared. Greed, plain & simple.

[peekaloo]

9. Well, when my elderly father fell and cut open his forehead last year

his trip was 6 hours in the ER, 5 stitches, one shot for pain and the total was around $1200.

My elderly mother recently was sent to the ER for a fractured leg and spent 10 hours in the ER and a 3 day hospital stay cost a tad over $12,000.

My 22 year old nephew recently had an emergency appendectomy that was a 2 hour ER visit and 1 1/2 day hospital stay that cost a tad over $20,000.

Fortunately all had some form of insurance that covered most if not all the costs. :-(

[Sgent]

10. Next time

try going to an urgent care center, calling your primary care doc, or calling a plastic surgeon. All would have been likely to see you and would have been significantly less.

[shenmue]

11. That is awful.

It's highway robbery.

[Hersheygirl]

13. The average wait at the Hershey Medical Center's emergency room,

is between 10 and 12 hours. You first go in and a triage nurse sees you and then puts you in line according to your emergency. The more urgent your emergency, the quicker you are taken back to see a doctor. Now, if you are brought in by ambulance, you are seen right away. The same goes for the Life Lion helicopter. They take precedence over everybody.

Now, here's the kicker, to get past the long wait, some people call an ambulance no matter what the problem, so they do not have to wait in line. I know that does not seem plausible, but they do it.

And yes the price is ridiculous. When my son was in a bad accident, the ambulance bill contained an item that blew me away, a pair of gloves was 10 dollars and that was more than 10 years ago, I can just imagine what the cost is today.

[Horse with no Name]

31. In many hospitals--mine included

people think that a ride in the ambulance assures you to be seen more quickly which leads to abuse.
We have a policy that a non-emergent ambulance ride gets parked out in the waiting room to wait their turn.
People usually only try it once.

[haele]

46. Urgent Care rawks - Laz went to the emergency room last month with chest pain -

We had originally gone to local hospital based Urgent Care facility because 1) it was still open (from 10am to 10pm 7 days a week) and 2) we wanted to only have to pay the $15 co-pay with no lab or diagnostic charges if it was nothing much instead of a $50 co-pay + "negotiated" specialists doctor's costs and 85% of any lab or diagnostic test cost going to the emergency room.
We always go to an Urgent Care facility if a family member needs to see a general practice doctor for the things in life that can't wait 3 months on an appointment basis - deep cuts, bad pains, unusual reactions or sicknesses because the wait has always been at most 20 minutes to see someone after walking in.

The urgent care doctor and nurses - and facilities - were very good; even so, they determined there might be an issue and they ordered the ambulance to transport Laz a total of 5 miles (and 15 minutes total to rig up and transport him) to the emergency room.
This changed the charge codes on the insurance from primary care emergency room visit to prescribed referral, so all the payments would be on a different scale and the prescribed (and accepted by Aetna) ambulance ride will only cost us $30 instead of - just under $3800.
Because he was on oxygen and on monitors they added $1272 to the bill. When I called Aetna, they indicated we would have paid 20% of the negotiated bill (which would have been dropped about 40%) for the ride, so we would have ended up paying a little under $500 for the ride if we needed to call the ambulance ourselves - or if he had collapsed in public and someone else had called for him.
The emergency room visit will still be charged the co-pay ($50), but all the doctors there can only charge us $30 as a referral copay instead of an hourly base that in previous emergency room visits often went up to $200 for the specialist. All lab work is at 20% of the insurance co's negotiated rate.

The total cost for Laz's visit should only be around $400 - $500 instead of what had been $800 for an emergency room visit for impacted bowels the kidlet had two years ago.

Going to Urgent Care *first* on our PPO insurance - saved us between 40 - 50% of what a drive to the emergency room would have cost us. Even after ignoring the added cost of the Urgent Care copay and the ambulance ride.

But I feel bad that while I'm lucky enough to have reasonably decent insurance through my employer, there are millions of others - even those who have some sort of health insurance - that would be stuck with a massive bill for several thousand dollars after such a visit and end up going bankrupt - losing their homes or their children's future - because they thought they might be having a heart attack.

Single Payer insurance now!

Haele

[renate]

51. very interesting

For people without really good insurance coverage this is super duper useful information. I had no idea that you could save money on co-pays etc by getting a referral from a PPO urgent care provider.

Were you at all worried about the delay in getting straight to the ER, though? Or did they send you there pretty quickly? Chest pain is a scary thing to roll the dice about.

Thanks so much for telling us about this!

[agtcovert]

15. It's amazing isn't it?

I had surgery a few years ago for my gall bladder. I'm fortunate enough to have insurance, but I still had some responsibility under the plan I had.

So, I got to the hospital at 6am. They started an IV. Went to the OR, done in less than an hour according to my dad. Out the hospital doors by 10:30, and I get the bill: $12,500 or so for about 4 hours in the hospital, including 1 hour in the OR for a very standard procedure.

They sent me a non-itemized bill, so I called and complained, told them I wouldn't pay unless I got an itemized bill. I got this line of BS about how it's not SOP, etc etc. I'll spare you the details, but they finally relented and sent me an itemized bill. I think they send a summary version to hide a lot of details, like the fact they charged $250 for a saline IV. $250 for salt water. What a joke.

The surgeon took $2500 for an hour, the anesthesiologist took $1000, and most of the rest went to the hospital for ?? You tell me.

After the surgery, I had a problem with my arm (some kind of clot) where the IV was. Went to the ER because my arm was changing color -- $3500 for a test and a pat on the back.

So, while the amount is depressing, I'd say it's wholly unsurprising. (And this was in 2003).

[lapfog_1]

16. Yup...

That's actually cheap (though not reasonable).

Before my corrective heart surgery, I would routinely have to make visits to the ER (twice a year) because there was only one drug that would stop my arrhythmia attacks, and that drug could only be administered via IV injection with a saline push. So... that meant a trip to the ER.

I would walk in, tell the admitting nurse exactly what was happening (heart rate 300+, BP 60/40, etc), I wouldn't have to wait as they would slam me into a chair and stick me in a bed and start running an IV solution right away (to treat for shock, though I was never really in shock, nor did I need so much fluid). Then the ER doc would come over and read the chart and ask me a few questions. Then they would inject me with the drug I needed. The heart would convert to normal and they'd leave me alone for a couple of hours and then out the door. Total time spent with doctors or nurses, maybe 10 minutes.
One shot of Endocard (a great drug, it actually kills you briefly).

Cost... about $3000 per visit. Fortunately I had insurance that covered 80 percent. Then I had corrective surgery ($40K).
Then my insurance carrier dropped me like a hot potato... and now I can't get any insurance (well, that's not strictly true... I can get BlueCross for $800/month AND they won't cover anything related to my heart...)

[Mojorabbit]

52. You are lucky

My hubby had a heart attack at age 44, seven years ago and no one will insure him at any price. We have tried every avenue there is.

[lapfog_1]

61. Yeah,,. except I can't afford the $800/month

and that's with some sort of outrageous deductible and copay. Anyway, I've only seen the cardiologist one time since the surgery (some years back now) so who knows if anything new has come up. i can only hope that it hasn't.

Oh well.

Don't get sick in the USA... and don't be poor. :sarcasm:

[BadAssTeddyBear]

17. Broken Finger

We have a work kickball team. Last summer one of my co-workers on the team broke his PINKY finger. To date it's cost him $21,000+

[Matariki]

18. my ex broke his wrist in a bicycle accident

his bill was $12000 and he was without insurance. to be fair, that included surgery and not just a cast.

[deadmessengers]

19. Last year we paid $800

Last year, my sweetie made the mistake of flying with a sinus problem, and ended up with a pressure injury to her eardrum. We sat in the ER waiting room, with my sweetie in enormous pain, for 7 hours waiting to see a doctor. The doc took one look at her ears and nose, said, "yeah, there's a litte bit of blood there, but it'll go away on it's own. You need to see an ENT specialist as soon as you can. Here's a scrip for painkillers."

We got the bill - all told, our 7 hour wait and 5-minute examination cost $800, not including the prescription, which we had to have filled elsewhere for another $120. Ironically, the ENT specialist only cost us $100, plus the scrips there. Uninsured medical in this country is a fucking JOKE.

Now, contrast this to a trip we had to make with our daughter to an urgent-care center in Paris, France only 3 days before. That trip cost 60 Euro, including all the required prescriptions. Also, it was only a half-hour wait. We only had to pay because we weren't covered under the French healthcare system - otherwise it would have been free. The billing clerk was quite apologetic for this. All I can say, is "vive la France", and why the fuck can't we get something like that here?!?!

[SammyWinstonJack]

28. Insurance companies is my guess why we can't get something like that here.

:shrug:

[Warpy]

20. It sounds about average

I know it seems exorbitant, but health care shows us what the true domestic inflation rate, minus cheap foreign goods, has been.

Hospitals are getting better at negotiating with uninsured people and will offer a discount plus a reasonable payment schedule.

Still, one minor thing like your wife's accident can cause a lot of damage to the finances of marginal workers.

It's a cruel system and needs to go.

[Donnachaidh]

21. You got off light

My kid fell and we thought he might have fractured a bone in his arm. He had 2 xrays, and sat in the ER for 3 hours with ice on his arm. No fracture, gave him a removable soft cast, and told him to check with his ortho doctor in a week.

The bill? $5,600+ For 3 hours in the children's ER. NO meds given, had a doctor stop in for less than 5 minutes before he went to Xray.

That wasn't the end of it. We went to the ortho guy the next day who decided that he SHOULD have been put in a cast at the ER. So we now had more charges added on to the incident. He didn't have a fracture, but there was enough inflammation to warrant further treatment.

So my insurance had to pay for a half-assed diagnosis at premium rates. And double, because of the incompetence of the ER doctors.

:grr:

[maxrandb]

44. When it comes to medical cost. I've been lucky

Not to get too into my personal life, but my bride was diagnosed a couple of years ago with breast cancer. Shortly after that, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. She's been through the wringer. All in all, it's been 7 major surgeries, 5 chemothearapy treatments, 1 radiation treatment, and minor procedures, tests and scans too numerous to mention.

Since I'm active duty military, these were all done at a military hospital, and it did not cost me a dime. I've never actually worked the numbers, but I'd bet that we are approaching or surpassing "7 figures" in medical costs.

If I did not have insurance - If I had to buy my own coverage - If I was not in the military - If my insurance had dropped me when my wife's medical issues began...in other words...if I was like 75% of the American people...we would have been financially ruined. We would have lost the house, our savings, all of our assets, the kids college money...EVERYTHING.

But what do you do when you have to choose between death, or financial ruin?

America is the richest country in the world. No American should have to choose between death, or financial ruin. It's a shame that so many do.

[SammyWinstonJack]

55. I'd choose death. I wouldn't want to put my husband in financial ruin.

Thanks for nothing all you congresscritters who have health insurance courtesy of us taxpayers. Why are we not afforded the same?

[Donnachaidh]

59. Children can't choose that

I understand your post completely. But there are kids with blood disorders that have to pay $1000 a DOSE for their meds. Insurance companies treat the families of these kids like LEPERS. But I don't know any parent that can sit back and not do whatever it takes to get the meds their kids need.

If we had some SANITY, some price-control on pharma companies -- and NO insurance companies involved, we'd be a much better world.

I'd much rather see pharmaceutical companies working on less costly drugs for people who need them, rather than 15 different variations of erectile dysfunction meds.

[DetroitProle]

22. sounds about right

I broke my wrist last November. Just one bone, but I had to have surgery. Never stayed over night or anything. $22,000.

[movie_girl99]

23. i'm not sure about the ER but I got a physical last year

I got my EOB (explanation of benefits) and the dr.s office had billed my insurance for a pap smear and an EKG. I called them and raised so much hell!!!It took me calling them twice and I called the insurance company to let them know. It's all a big fucking racket i'm telling you.

[npincus]

24. Yes, it is.

Hospitals overbill like hell to cmpensate for uninsured patients they treat-- at least my local hospital does.

I'm surprised they made your wife wait for 2.5 hours on a slow day with that kind of injury. My daugheter (3 at the time) was seen immediately by a plastic surgeon to stich up the gash in her forehead. On another visit (a banged nose) wwe waited a longer time-- about 90 minutes.

[maxrandb]

30. To clarify

they didn't make her wait that long. They saw her almost immediately, but by the time we got there, the bleeding had almost stopped. The total time we were there was about 2 hours. About 30 minutes of that was devoted to cleaning and stitching up the wounds.

[npincus]

32. Ah ha!

Glad to hear they attended to her immediately.

My little sweetheart still has a scar on her forehead, but it could have been so much worse. It was an awful experience; I had to hold down her legs, an attendant had to hold her head and she was screaming and crying hysterically while the doctor stitched her up.

[maxrandb]

35. My youngest girl hit her head on the coffee table about 10 years ago

She was 4 and needed 5 stitches. They put her in one of those little imobilizers with the cartoon characters all over it. The worst part was having to hold her while they injected the lidocaine. She got a "Big" dish of Ice Cream when it was over.

[npincus]

38. Awww, poor dear.

You've had the same experience. I gave my daughter "treats" after too, only I can't recall what they were. Probably chocolate ice cream with sprinkles!

[Horse with no Name]

26. It is not fraud

It is standard operating practice.
An Emergency Room generally employs highly trained staff that you wouldn't find in an office.
You also pay physician fees, emergency room fees, medication administration fees, supplies, etc.
I will also tell you that the time that for such a minor emergency, that the time spent by the physician and staff on suturing generally is longer than is spent on someone that is very sick. At least more hands on--not looking at tests, etc.
Is it reasonable fee when you consider how long you were there? Obviously not.
Is it a customary fee? Absolutely.

[kath]

53. The bill she received sounds like the HOSPITAL bill - the DOCTOR's bill will come later,

and will likely be a few hundred more.

[Bitwit1234]

27. I went to the hospital and was kept over night

for a stomach problem. X-rays, medicine and since I arrived before 12 at night and left at 5:30PM the next day I was charged for two days. The bill was paid by my two insurances - medicare and BC/BS PPO. But they send copies of the bill ....and all charges only came to about a little over 1000.00. The last bill I got from the hospital said 952.00. And add to the 952 the cost of the doctors and the xrays so I would say about 1000.00. which isn't too bad..and I got excellent excellent care. I was hospitalized for three days with the same problem this year. But I have not received copies of the charges as of yet.

[Freddie Stubbs]

29. Your insurance company will not pay the bill without itemized billing codes

Each diagnosis and procedure has a specific code. An open feromal fracture is 821.10. Treating such a fracture with a plate or screws would use the 27507 procedure code.

[kestrel91316]

33. I was sure glad I had insurance a few years ago when I developed a heart

arrhythmia (due to caffeine, lol) which got so bad I got lightheaded and short of breath.

My 2 hours in the ER, with single chest XR, supplemental O2, ECG and PO2 monitoring, and an injection of magnesium (which didn't help but hurt like hell), came to over $5000. They told me I had "benign palpitations" but couldn't explain why, if they were so benign, they were threatening to make me a danger driving my car if I fainted from them. I was actually the one who figured out the caffeine connection, too. They had no idea why I had suddenly developed them. They should have paid ME for my consultation.

[underseasurveyor]

34. 35 dollars for an aspirin

My younger brother was given two @ $35 each. This was about 20 years ago. He was staying with us for a weekend of snow skiing and came home with a hugely swollen elbow. I called our parents since he was still a minor at the time and he was on their insurance. I took him to the ER in Big Bear, CA. where he had a couple xrays (nothing broken), an ace wrap, an arm sling and two aspirin. When my parents received the bill it totaled $900.00.

$35.00 for a friggin aspirin:wow: Can you believe that shit!

Sorry to hear about your sweethearts owie:-( Hope she feels OK and heals fast:-)

[uppityperson]

36. Normal, awful, get an itemized bill even if insurance is paying.

Yes, this is normal. Yes, this is awful. If you don't have insurance, sometimes ERs/hospitals/clinics will have a provision for partial payments, perhaps based on income, perhaps based on beggging, all of which adds insult to injury.

get an itemized bill, EVEN if insurance covers it because yes, people do get charged for things they don't get. I found several hundreds of dollars worth of non-received stuff after giving birth, and disputed some of the charges as it was stuff sent with me that I didn't ask for, didn't want, didn't use, didn't know about (sending home formula routinely, for instance). Help keep them honest, or a bit honest.

[Frank Cannon]

37. Sad. Outrageous. But completely normal (for the US).

About 10 years ago I had to take my wife to the ER for dehydration. Our 20% copay was $500. That was shocking then. I can't imagine what the total bill would be now.

[youthere]

40. $1400 doesn't sound too far off..but DEMAND an itemization.

You'd be surprised what you get "accidentally" charged for.

[shadowknows69]

41. I got one for 1300

for a strep test and them taking some blood. cost me 20 just for the med tech to take a test tube of my blood. give me the needle next time ill do it myself.

[WI_DEM]

43. If it is out of your means to pay ask for a Community Care reduction in the bill

most hospitals have programs to help people if they can't afford to pay. The one I work for does. At my hospital also a person with no health insurance gets an automatic 20% reduction in their bill--and then if they feel they still need additional help they can apply for additional reduction thru Community Care. Also, if you want a breakdown in the bill you can call the business office and request a itemized statement.

[Donnachaidh]

60. 20%? That's a PITTANCE off some of these bills!

That's an INSULT when hospitals regularly take 50% from the insurance companies. When they start offering payments along the line that they take from the insurance companies, I'll be satisfied. Until then, they are price-gouging.

[LostinVA]

45. I would say that's on the cheap side -- unfortunately

And, ALWAYS ask for an itemized bill. Like people's credit reports they almost always have at least one mistake on them.

[proud2BlibKansan]

47. My son's friend just broke his arm

and the ER bill was $8000.

[aikoaiko]

48. If you have no insurance, hospitals will gladly reduce your bill (50% is easy).

[bleedingheart]

49. yup...normal...$90,000 for 10 days in NICU for my daughter

[Efilroft Sul]

50. My father-in-law had to go to the emergency room yesterday.

He suffered from shortness of breath due to multiple heart ailments, plus he has a rare blood disease. Anyway, he sat in the emergency room for NINE hours yesterday before being assigned his own hospital room. My poor wife's at wit's end from this and other hospital follies, and I can only imagine how her dad feels.

Our health care system is a crock.

[ourbluenation]

54. I was in a few years ago for 2.5 hours, some tests...$8000. Because it was an emergency

my insurance only paid half of that.

I had an ekg
blood work
and an ultrasound

(I had gall stones)

$8,000 later

[kath]

56. Whenever possible, for things like stitches, sprains, the eardrum problem mentioned above, etc, go

to an URGENT CARE CENTER, if they are open at the time or will open soon, rather than an ER. The charges will be a lot less, and with some insurance plans will be treated as a doctor's visit, with the typical co-pay, whereas (at least with our plan) ER visits will have the $200 deductible, plus 20 -30% of the remaining charge (depending on whether the hospital is "in network" or not.

Hubby was having some bad knee pain (out of the blue) a few months back, and we found out his doc had gone out of practice. This was in the afternoon, and he was getting ready to go to the ER. I called the ins. co to see if our nearest hospital was "in network" and the ditz on the phone couldn't figure out whether it was or not. But she did mention a local urgent care center that was in-network, and a light bulb went off in my head - "ah ha, that'll be a lot cheaper"! So we waited a couple of hours until evening when the urgent care opened - net cost $20 co-pay. No extra charge for the x-ray. The ER would have cost us at least several hundred out-of pocket and would have taken a lot longer.

Also, ask your doc if any of the hospitals s/he goes to have an evening clinic or acute care/urgent care clinic where urgent but not real life-threatening emergency patients can be seen. If you have an urgent situation come up, call your doc first (or his answering service at night) and find out where you should go. Sometimes a private doc can call ahead and have his/her patient seen in such a clinic, and it's quicker, easier and cheaper than being caught up in the whole ER mess. I know for a fact that some pediatric hospitals have such a set-up.

Also, some docs will do stitches in their office.

[Roland99]

57. When you get the itemized bill, you'll find the JohnEdwards Adjustment Fee.

:sarcasm:

[AZBlue]

63. Sounds pretty cheap actually.

Sad to say...

I once had to be splinted by the ambulance crew - they charged me, among other things, $25 for the 12 inches of tape they used. I almost went out and bought an entire roll of tape, crosed off that line on my bill and returned them to show my new balance due.