Collarspace Discussion Forums


Home  Login  Search 

Eye-Popping Health Care Costs


View related threads: (in this forum | in all forums)

Logged in as: Guest
 
All Forums >> [Casual Banter] >> Off the Grid >> Eye-Popping Health Care Costs Page: [1] 2 3 4 5   next >   >>
Login
Message << Older Topic   Newer Topic >>
Eye-Popping Health Care Costs - 4/29/2013 8:03:51 PM   
cloudboy


Posts: 7306
Joined: 12/14/2005
Status: offline
We read all the time about how health care in the USA is the most expensive in the world. In this thread I seek to find examples from your own life experiences to demonstrate this point.

Here are my two examples:

(1) After Thanksgiving I experienced some severe abdominal pain and figured I was about to get food poisoning. I end up at the ER.

At the ER they take my blood, run some tests, administer an IV, and give me an anti-nausea shot. (That was fucking amazing.) Then I get a small can of ginger ale, crackers, and a discharge. This all takes 2 hours. The charge: $985.00.

(2) I went to the ENT b/c my sinuses have been blocked upl. The ENT uses an endoscope to look into my nose remarking, "yes, it looks puffy back there." The appointment lasted 10 minutes, tops.

The cost: $785.00. The Dr. charged about $680.00 to use the endoscope for about 40 seconds to look into my nose.

Two basic items of health care -- helping some one with food poisoning and looking at one's sinuses during a 8 minute consultation --- and huge sums of money are owed.

What crazy shit have you experienced?
Profile   Post #: 1
RE: Eye-Popping Health Care Costs - 4/29/2013 8:08:17 PM   
Phydeaux


Posts: 4828
Joined: 1/4/2004
Status: offline 		Yep, going to the ER for food poisoning is part of the problem. You're not going to die from it - why go.

Had you gone to an urgent care facility or a doctors office the cost would have been significantly less.

Obama care is encouraging the consolidation of dr's offices into mega corps. (ie., hospitals are buying up individual practices). Destruction of the health care industry.

(in reply to cloudboy)
Profile   Post #: 2
RE: Eye-Popping Health Care Costs - 4/29/2013 8:14:42 PM   
DomKen


Posts: 19457
Joined: 7/4/2004
From: Chicago, IL
Status: offline 		I was hospitalized for 8 days in March with severe bronchitis.

The bill came to $78k

(in reply to Phydeaux)
Profile   Post #: 3
RE: Eye-Popping Health Care Costs - 4/29/2013 8:24:27 PM   
cloudboy


Posts: 7306
Joined: 12/14/2005
Status: offline
I went to the ER because when I called my GP, he told me to go the ER b/c the symptoms weren't synonymous with food poisoning in his view. Luckily, that's how it turned out. One does not have many other options at 4 AM in the morning.

I know this thread could take a political slant, but I'm more interested in getting responders to tell their direct experiences in the health care system.

Simple procedures and basic care are extraordinarily expensive in the USA.

Ken's example was an eye-popper.

(in reply to Phydeaux)
Profile   Post #: 4
RE: Eye-Popping Health Care Costs - 4/29/2013 8:36:12 PM   
tj444


Posts: 7574
Joined: 3/7/2010
Status: offline 		well,.. neither of those situations would have me running to the doctor or er,.. when i have gotten food poisoning (I know how that feels) i throw up a few times, sleep for about 2 hours and then I am almost back to normal.. i have allergies so if i get stuffed up i just take certain OTC meds that help..

I did go to one SoCal doctor about some elective surgery, he quoted me $10k.. I decided to pass on that.. imo he might have thought I was a medical tourist & it was ok to gouge me as his quote was double what I was expecting.. and honestly, how he described how he does that particular surgery, I was not very impressed & I was not instilled with confidence in him/his abilities.. I will eventually get that done but not by him and not the way he described.. I would be looking for a different technique that makes more sense to me.. and not cost nearly as much as he wanted.. I will also check out what it costs in Canada and see if any Doctor there does it the way i want it done.. But when you talk about elective surgery, sometimes people will pay more for a doctor that has developed his own advanced/better techniques and imo in those situations that is what you are paying more for..



_____________________________

As Anderson Cooper said “If he (Trump) took a dump on his desk, you would defend it”

(in reply to cloudboy)
Profile   Post #: 5
RE: Eye-Popping Health Care Costs - 4/29/2013 8:45:28 PM   
littlewonder


Posts: 15659
Status: offline 		mental healthcare for my daughter when she was young where she had to be hospitalized. My insurance only covered two days. She needed much, much more than two days. I had to pay the rest out of pocket. She spent two weeks. It cost me a little over $7,000. She refused to stick it out and they said they could do nothing more for her and let her go only to still have the same problems. So basically $7,000 down the tubes.

When I had to have an endoscopy under local anesthesia at the beginning of this year, it cost me over $3,000. Luckily my insurance paid the majority of it.



_____________________________

Nothing has changed
Everything has changed

(in reply to tj444)
Profile   Post #: 6
RE: Eye-Popping Health Care Costs - 4/29/2013 10:11:16 PM   
muhly22222


Posts: 463
Joined: 3/25/2010
Status: offline
quote:

Luckily my insurance paid the majority of it.


That's the kicker right there. If you didn't have insurance, I'd bet they wouldn't charge you $3000.

I was just talking to one of my uncles at a wedding this weekend. He went to the pharmacy to get some medicine, gave them his insurance, and got the price back...$756 for a few pills. He asked if there was any way to bring that price down (he has a $10k deductible, so that was all coming out of his pocket). The pharmacist told the computer that he didn't have insurance. The new price? $51.

_____________________________

I have always been among those who believed that the greatest freedom of speech was the greatest safety, because if a man is a fool, the best thing to do is to encourage him to advertise the fact by speaking.
-Woodrow Wilson

(in reply to littlewonder)
Profile   Post #: 7
RE: Eye-Popping Health Care Costs - 4/30/2013 6:29:59 AM   
LizDeluxe


Posts: 687
Joined: 10/2/2011
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: muhly22222
That's the kicker right there. If you didn't have insurance, I'd bet they wouldn't charge you $3000.

I was just talking to one of my uncles at a wedding this weekend. He went to the pharmacy to get some medicine, gave them his insurance, and got the price back...$756 for a few pills. He asked if there was any way to bring that price down (he has a $10k deductible, so that was all coming out of his pocket). The pharmacist told the computer that he didn't have insurance. The new price? $51.


Yep. I have insurance but a few years ago there was a dispute over a bill amounting to several thousand dollars. I decided to pay the hospital out of pocket and deal with the insurance company myself. Showed up with my checkbook at the hospital and asked "What would it take to settle this today?". They cut the charges in half without batting an eyelash.

(in reply to muhly22222)
Profile   Post #: 8
RE: Eye-Popping Health Care Costs - 4/30/2013 9:24:05 AM   
DomKen


Posts: 19457
Joined: 7/4/2004
From: Chicago, IL
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: cloudboy

Ken's example was an eye-popper.

Keep in mind that that is what they billed Medicare. Medicare isn't likely to actually pay all of that.

(in reply to cloudboy)
Profile   Post #: 9
RE: Eye-Popping Health Care Costs - 4/30/2013 9:35:48 AM   
angelikaJ


Posts: 8641
Joined: 6/22/2007
Status: offline 		FR

The next time you get an outrageous hospital bill, don’t get worked up. Take a breath and negotiate. For a good strategy, listen to Pat Palmer, who knows how to land the best price for services rendered. And she’s seen it all: from $400 bills for a single Tylenol, to a teddy bear masquerading as a very expensive “cough support device.” Pat, who has worked for an insurance company, shares her tricks for finding savings in the fine print of a hospital bill.
The $400 Tylenol Pill, And How To Get A Better Price



_____________________________

The original home of the caffeinated psychotic hair pixies.
(as deemed by He who owns me)

http://www.collarchat.com/m_3234821/tm.htm

30 fluffy points!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQjuCQd01sg

(in reply to cloudboy)
Profile   Post #: 10
RE: Eye-Popping Health Care Costs - 4/30/2013 9:59:09 AM   
leonine


Posts: 409
Joined: 11/3/2009
From: [email protected]
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: muhly22222

quote:

Luckily my insurance paid the majority of it.


That's the kicker right there. If you didn't have insurance, I'd bet they wouldn't charge you $3000.

I was just talking to one of my uncles at a wedding this weekend. He went to the pharmacy to get some medicine, gave them his insurance, and got the price back...$756 for a few pills. He asked if there was any way to bring that price down (he has a $10k deductible, so that was all coming out of his pocket). The pharmacist told the computer that he didn't have insurance. The new price? $51.

And this is why in countries with state sponsored healthcare, the cost to taxpayers is a small fraction of what you guys pay in insurance. The insurance cos are arm in arm with the pharma cos to bid up prices, they can pass it on to you and you can't shop around for a better deal. Only something the size of a Ministry of Health has the clout to haggle with Big Pharma.


_____________________________

Leo9


Gonna pack in my hand, pick up on a piece of land and build myself a cabin in the woods.
It's there I'm gonna stay, until there comes a day when this old world starts a-changing for the good.
- James Taylor

(in reply to muhly22222)
Profile   Post #: 11
RE: Eye-Popping Health Care Costs - 4/30/2013 10:53:55 AM   
Phoenixpower


Posts: 8098
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: leonine



quote:

ORIGINAL: muhly22222

quote:

Luckily my insurance paid the majority of it.


That's the kicker right there. If you didn't have insurance, I'd bet they wouldn't charge you $3000.

I was just talking to one of my uncles at a wedding this weekend. He went to the pharmacy to get some medicine, gave them his insurance, and got the price back...$756 for a few pills. He asked if there was any way to bring that price down (he has a $10k deductible, so that was all coming out of his pocket). The pharmacist told the computer that he didn't have insurance. The new price? $51.

And this is why in countries with state sponsored healthcare, the cost to taxpayers is a small fraction of what you guys pay in insurance. The insurance cos are arm in arm with the pharma cos to bid up prices, they can pass it on to you and you can't shop around for a better deal. Only something the size of a Ministry of Health has the clout to haggle with Big Pharma.



I know that my comment isnt really on topic now and I do apologise for that....but seriously....I prefer to pay more on taxes over here and don't have to pay anything out of my own wallet into medical health care...those prices are just shocking to me...

_____________________________

RIP 08-09-07

The PAST is history, the FUTURE a mystery, NOW is a gift - that's why it's called the PRESENT

www.butyoudontlooksick.com/navigation/BYDLS-TheSpoonTheory.pdf

(in reply to leonine)
Profile   Post #: 12
RE: Eye-Popping Health Care Costs - 4/30/2013 3:58:43 PM   
LizDeluxe


Posts: 687
Joined: 10/2/2011
Status: offline 		Interesting on-topic story on CNN today regarding Boston:

The average cost for a day in a U.S. hospital is $4,287

(in reply to Phoenixpower)
Profile   Post #: 13
RE: Eye-Popping Health Care Costs - 4/30/2013 4:16:29 PM   
kiwisub12


Posts: 4742
Joined: 1/11/2006
Status: offline 		My late dom was on medication for various and asundry ailments. If he bought them in the US, without insurance, it cost about $500 a month. He bought them from India via mail and got three months for about $400.

Recently i had to get a CPAP machine. It cost $1500. My cost? - $700. I recently went in and got replacement nasal pillows for the head wear - it cost $140! If you didn't have insurance you couldn't afford to have sleep apnea.


(in reply to LizDeluxe)
Profile   Post #: 14
RE: Eye-Popping Health Care Costs - 4/30/2013 4:18:33 PM   
dcnovice


Posts: 37282
Joined: 8/2/2006
Status: offline 		I was in and out of the hospital for about a month recently. I shudder to think what it will cost me.

_____________________________

No matter how cynical you become,
it's never enough to keep up.

JANE WAGNER, THE SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF
INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE

(in reply to LizDeluxe)
Profile   Post #: 15
RE: Eye-Popping Health Care Costs - 4/30/2013 4:42:07 PM   
LookieNoNookie


Posts: 12216
Joined: 8/9/2008
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: dcnovice

I was in and out of the hospital for about a month recently. I shudder to think what it will cost me.


So...what's the story?

I think I kind of eclipsed things....what's happening DC?

(in reply to dcnovice)
Profile   Post #: 16
RE: Eye-Popping Health Care Costs - 4/30/2013 5:15:57 PM   
LafayetteLady


Posts: 7683
Joined: 5/2/2007
From: Northern New Jersey
Status: offline 		I just filled my prescriptions today for the next month. Total cost? $990.59 Luckily, I have Medicaid which covered the full cost. But my monthly medication cost exceeds my monthly rent. That's just wrong.

(in reply to kiwisub12)
Profile   Post #: 17
RE: Eye-Popping Health Care Costs - 4/30/2013 5:25:11 PM   
OsideGirl


Posts: 14441
Joined: 7/1/2005
From: United States
Status: offline 		I went in for laser cauterization for pre-cancerous cells which is an outpatient procedure done with IV sedation. (I'm a DES baby)

The insurance refused to pay for the procedure even though I had gotten approval before the procedure.

They came back saying that I hadn't been approved for sterilization and would be responsible for the $5000.00 bill. (This was 1993) The bill for the IV alone was $1200.00.

I had multiple arguments with the insurance company's customer service agent, insisting that I had been sterilized while I was insisting that I had not been (so was the doctor). Finally, I screamed at the dumbass that one of us had been there and it wasn't her.

It took nearly a year to get it straightened out. It turned out that the insurance company had changed procedure codes in the week between the approval and the operation. In the meantime, I was being hounded by the hospital for the payment.



< Message edited by OsideGirl -- 4/30/2013 5:26:20 PM >

_____________________________

Give a girl the right shoes and she will conquer the world. ~ Marilyn Monroe

The Accelerated Velocity of Terminological Inexactitude

(in reply to LafayetteLady)
Profile   Post #: 18
RE: Eye-Popping Health Care Costs - 4/30/2013 5:28:25 PM   
LookieNoNookie


Posts: 12216
Joined: 8/9/2008
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: LafayetteLady

I just filled my prescriptions today for the next month. Total cost? $990.59 Luckily, I have Medicaid which covered the full cost. But my monthly medication cost exceeds my monthly rent. That's just wrong.


WOW!!!!

(in reply to LafayetteLady)
Profile   Post #: 19
RE: Eye-Popping Health Care Costs - 4/30/2013 7:49:54 PM   
LafayetteLady


Posts: 7683
Joined: 5/2/2007
From: Northern New Jersey
Status: offline 		Crazy, ain't it?

(in reply to LookieNoNookie)
Profile   Post #: 20
Page:   [1] 2 3 4 5   next >   >>
All Forums >> [Casual Banter] >> Off the Grid >> Eye-Popping Health Care Costs Page: [1] 2 3 4 5   next >   >>
Jump to:





New Messages No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages Locked w/o New Messages
 Post New Thread
 Reply to Message
 Post New Poll
 Submit Vote
 Delete My Own Post
 Delete My Own Thread
 Rate Posts




Collarchat.com © 2025
Terms of Service Privacy Policy Spam Policy

0.109