Scary medical bill

[basschsr]

It’s unfortunately the insurance companies and not the medical profession. Insurance looks at every avenue on how to cost contain , keep you off the best drug even if it works best and won’t offer to pay for services and offers a threshold. Unfortunately medical professionals are at the mercy of insurance companies and it’s not nearly as a lucrative business as one would think considering around every corner someone wants to sue you.

This is only part true. I do understand that the insurance companies are part of the problem but if I tell the hospital that I am gonna pay cash at the time of service there are no “discounts”. I received a bill from a hospital in Colorado Springs for my wife for over $5000. Then another from the doctor for $2000. She went in for “altitude sickness” basically dehydration, headache and nausea. They gave her an iv for fluids and a couple of tylenol and let her rest for about an hour then discharged her. That is the medical institution over inflating costs. These bills were my portion after insurance paid theirs. It is utter BS! The only way I will ever see a doctor or hospital is if in a major accident and it is not my choice to go or not.

[SabineHunter]

It’s unfortunately the insurance companies and not the medical profession. Insurance looks at every avenue on how to cost contain , keep you off the best drug even if it works best and won’t offer to pay for services and offers a threshold. Unfortunately medical professionals are at the mercy of insurance companies and it’s not nearly as a lucrative business as one would think considering around every corner someone wants to sue you.

Give me a break and stop crying a river for the crooked medical profession. The doctors and hospitals are way overcharging for their services and you keep avoiding the fact that they won't let a patient know their prices until way after the fact. Why don't they do that? Because they are rip off artists, Thats why. They need to be transparent with their prices and fees. How much does a day in the hospital cost?

[SabineHunter]

Does anybody know a business that will not deny their services in the event that a "customer" is not going to be capable of paying for the services? This is a portion of the problem. The uninsured (for whatever reason) will still get health care when needed. This cost is passed down to the insured.

So does shoplifting get passed down to the customers. We still get to know what the item costs before we buy it, right? Why isn't the cost of said medical services the same way?

[Tx_Wader]

Do not pay it. Go on the payment plan and make the minimum payment that you can. After a few years they will clear it.

This.

A friend of mine ran out of insurance with cancer. He beat cancer but owed almost a million dollars in medical bills.

He paid $10.00 a month for a couple of years and got a letter that they wiped out the debt.

[lmartin5]

Prayers for you!


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[NWhunter]

So does shoplifting get passed down to the customers. We still get to know what the item costs before we buy it, right? Why isn't the cost of said medical services the same way?

Part of the reason, is in medicine, we try to only factor in what is the best course of action/medicine for the circumstance. We (as providers) often do not know what the cost is of said procedure/medicine. And in many instances, I would prefer not to know. I just make the best medical judgment that I can.

Another part is, in many cases, time is a factor. While you are having an active heart attack, we do not take the time to "run the numbers" and see what the most affective treatment will cost you and then provide you with a set of options based on price. We treat now, and settle on the back end. There is a saying in medical emergencies like this, time is tissue.
If time is not an issue, in many cases (at least in the outpatient setting), you can obtain the cost of the visit/procedure/medicine prior to receiving care.

The American medical model is definitely flawed and an imperfect system. Many would argue that it is not sustainable with the rising cost of healthcare for a multitude of reasons. One being the exploding population of unhealthy people. We (Americans) are as a whole though, very spoiled with our availability to good medicine when compared to many other countries.

[SabineHunter]

Still not adding up. While I definitely understand the ER scenario, why isn't the cost of office visits posted, the cost of basic hospital stay, how much my cataract surgery will cost me, how much are xrays, etc. It can and should be done but the crooked medical profession wants to keep it all as a secret. Why?
One reason may be the fact that most of us have insurance and have let them fight the system but now we have high insurance costs because of that. It is time to take on the crooked medical profession and get answers. The medical profession is out of control.

[Lynn21]

As long as you pay them anything a month whether it be 10, 20, or $100 or whatever, They can’t touch you and neither can bill collectors.

[Geezy Rider]

The ones that get me are the visits from doctors who I have no idea why they are seeing me.
I spent a weekend in ICU not to long ago. Every day there would be different doctors coming in my room and asking how I was doing. They might look at my legs and check my machines then ask a few more questions and then leave, never to be seen again. I’ll bet there were ten different doctors over the span of two days. None of them did anything but they all billed the insurance. I even got a bill from one of the nurses. Turns out she was a contract nurse so she billed the patient just like the doctors. It appears that they’ve got a pretty lucrative scam going on there.

[bow4my2]

Give me a break and stop crying a river for the crooked medical profession. The doctors and hospitals are way overcharging for their services and you keep avoiding the fact that they won't let a patient know their prices until way after the fact. Why don't they do that? Because they are rip off artists, Thats why. They need to be transparent with their prices and fees. How much does a day in the hospital cost?

Addressed this in your other comment on other thread. Sounds like you have had some back luck with providers. I always seem to get pricing before. Good luck in searching for a provider that can help with your needs.

[SabineHunter]

Addressed this in your other comment on other thread. Sounds like you have had some back luck with providers. I always seem to get pricing before. Good luck in searching for a provider that can help with your needs.

I addressed your comment on the other thread.

[bullets13]

When I had appendicitis I ended up owing about $7k out of pocket after the insurance did it’s thing. Had several separate bills, including a $900 bill for the attending doc in the ER (after insurance, so god knows what he billed in total to sign off on a scan and prescribe a pain med) who literally spent two minutes with me. I paid a minimum for about 3 years and they offered me a payoff. I countered with paying it off at their price IF they removed the final $700 or so that i owed the doc who did basically nothing. They agreed and I paid $2400 on the remaining $6000 and they wiped the rest. Point being they will negotiate down significantly.

[HTOWN]

Still not adding up. While I definitely understand the ER scenario, why isn't the cost of office visits posted, the cost of basic hospital stay, how much my cataract surgery will cost me, how much are xrays, etc. It can and should be done but the crooked medical profession wants to keep it all as a secret. Why?
One reason may be the fact that most of us have insurance and have let them fight the system but now we have high insurance costs because of that. It is time to take on the crooked medical profession and get answers. The medical profession is out of control.

I'm in the medical field. I have a imaging center. At my facility, the patient is required to be notified prior to exam date of benefits.

Yes, we get cancelations, but better to have them cancel prior than coming to the clinic and hit with a # they can't afford. Its a inconvenience for both parties of that happends.

It's not medicine that's crooked, it's bad management, lazy employees and incompetence at times.

But before have anything done, you definitely should be told what your benefits and our of pocket will be.

[SabineHunter]

I'm in the medical field. I have a imaging center. At my facility, the patient is required to be notified prior to exam date of benefits.

Yes, we get cancelations, but better to have them cancel prior than coming to the clinic and hit with a # they can't afford. Its a inconvenience for both parties of that happends.

It's not medicine that's crooked, it's bad management, lazy employees and incompetence at times.

But before have anything done, you definitely should be told what your benefits and our of pocket will be.

You, sir, are to be commended for doing this. I would definitely do business with you. Thank you.

[Codie]

My son broke his collar bone December 30th, 2021 - All itemized bills totaled to $62,000. NOBODY will ever talk me into believing that the medical field is not one big ball of crooks at this point. Luckily my insurance company reduced the line items substantially per their contract prices with the medical providers.