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Got an appendectomy done a couple of weeks back. Just got the bill.

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Beev said:
It's bullshit that it costs that much to begin with. An appendectomy shouldn't even cost a tenth of that.
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It doesn't cost that much to begin with, that's just the rate they charge so they get the actual reimbursement they need from the insurance company.
 
RedCOMET said:
Well i'm glad you're OK. I had an emergency splenectomy done in college and I don't even want to know how much my parents insurance paid for that. I had 1 night ICU stay before the surgery, CT scans and like 4 days hospital room recovery time. I'm pretty my procedure was not Laparoscopic b/c of the 6 or so inch scar on my stomach.
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Thanks. My procedure was done at Stanford and I haven't had any issues since then. All 3 of my incisions healed pretty rapidly.
I didn't have any issues during the surgery. It helped that the surgeon was really hot.
 
Health care charges have a complicated logic to the point of being stupid.

I work for an HMO, the other day someone opened an $80 device we didn't need & the doctor was pissed...

$45K for an appendectomy is insane.

Running the OR likely cost about $5K, the hospital bed overnight should have been about $1K, the ER visit should have run about $1.5K.
 
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Pliablemoose said:
Health care charges have a complicated logic to the point of being stupid.

I work for an HMO, the other day someone opened an $80 device we didn't need & the doctor was pissed...

$45K for an appendectomy is insane.

Running the OR likely cost about $5K, the hospital bed overnight should have been about $1K, the ER visit should have run about $1.5K.
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As someone who works for an HMO, you should know that the reimbursement is not $46k.
 
I get my medical bills sent to me every April. They take 1/3 of my income every year; and they stick you in debtor's prison if you don't pay up. 😛
 
Nintendesert said:
Mexico does it cheaper, good luck with that though.
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My boyfriend's mom just came back from a trip to Mexico for dental surgery that was not covered by Health Care. I don't remember the exact costs, but it was around $5000 here and $1500 there. She said it was a great experience and the medical facility was similar to what you would expect at home.

When she first told me she was going I thought she was crazy, but she said she talked to a lot of other people who had done the same thing and never had a problem.
 
Kommander_Kink said:
Yeah, I'm sure EVERYBODY in Mexico that has gotten a surgery has died because all those doctors are not doctors at all, they are just people that buy their titles and go to work in the surgery room 🙄
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Obviously everyone. That's why there's so few Mexicans running around now.
 
zoiks said:
$46,907.65 for the one night. Plus $4500 in CT-scans and lab report.
No wonder healthcare is so fucked up. Wonder how a guy getting paid $10/hour can afford this crap.
My share after the insurance coverage is $596.70 for the surgery/room for the night and $449 for the CT-scan/report.
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Daamn, I an emergency one done in Dec 2006, $18,000
 
Testimonials such as the OP's make me wonder what goes on in the minds of people opposed to health care reform. The attitude that everything is peachy keen since his insurance coverage took care of most of the expense totally misses the point of reform.

The system is broken and costs are going to continue to spiral up. There is a serious need for streamlining the process and the AMA, HMO's, and the insurance companies are very happy with their profits and are reluctant to derail the gravy train.
 
Healthcare is a monopoly. They can charge whatever they want and people will have to pay it, otherwise they can die. This is why it needs regulation. Hospitals, insurance companies, and doctors all price gauge.
 
Patranus said:
So you are out $1,000 for a $50,000 operation.
Sounds like the system worked and that is how someone who makes $10 an hour pays for it. That is why you buy *insurance*.
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Insurance companies are in business to make a TON of money. Money off the patients, money off the hospital, money of the doctors. Then those who can't afford the insurance are screwed. Remove ALL instances of "insurance" from the system, force any malpractices to be settled privately between the hospital and patients with proper regulations to govern min and max of the settlements, and you have affordable healthcare for everyone.
 
Zedtom said:
Testimonials such as the OP's make me wonder what goes on in the minds of people opposed to health care reform.
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Well the problem is that up to now, there has been NO practical solutions for reform presented by congress. Its just more crap piled on.
 
Patranus said:
If the care is the 37th best in the world, why do people from all over the world including world leader come to the USA for health care?
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Derp derp! Let's keep repeating the same nonsense over and over!

Let's see... the richest of the rich come to the US to get the top doctors in the world. The rest, the 99.99% of them get better care while at the same time don't go bankrupt or die from lack of care... they don't get discluded pre-existing conditions, don't get denied care, don't get 50k bills for a one night stay of a routine procedure, do not get a 30 page explanation of benefits showing every which way that the insurance company can and will use to deny you care, and don't have copays. Oh yeah, and they pay half of what we pay.

Don't forget, they cover seniors too. Meanwhile, our insurance companies are allowed to screw our seniors, so we just have the tax payers pick up the bill through medicare... all while raking in 2.5 billion in profits a QUARTER while simultaneously hiking the prices up 15-39%!

Best in the world! Derp derp derp!
 
BarkingGhostar said:
If you make $10/hour then you might want to spend more of your free time getting a better job.
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Yeah, screw the self employed that have to pay INSANE rates to insure their families.. Oh wait.. I thought republicans claimed to be pro small business.. WHOOPS! Screw those that have a baby(and get thrown off insurance one month later, and are expected to pay $1.3k a month in cobra). Screw those with chronic pain, mental illness, etc. In order to get access to healthcare, you MUST WORK! So, don't ever retire either! If you do, you must be part of a large company, government job, or union related job, that keeps you insured... so don't even think about being self employed!
 
zoiks said:
Thanks. My procedure was done at Stanford and I haven't had any issues since then. All 3 of my incisions healed pretty rapidly.
I didn't have any issues during the surgery. It helped that the surgeon was really hot.
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LOL. You had a hot trauma surgeon, too? How about the nurses? The hospital that did mysurgery also serves as teaching hospital for nursing, so I had one or two hot nursing students take care of me. Although, I was pretty fucked up before and after my surgery (internal bleeding prior to surgery, and morphine drip post surgery).
 
RedCOMET said:
LOL. You had a hot trauma surgeon, too? How about the nurses? The hospital that did mysurgery also serves as teaching hospital for nursing, so I had one or two hot nursing students take care of me. Although, I was pretty fucked up before and after my surgery (internal bleeding prior to surgery, and morphine drip post surgery).
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Damn bastard. When I stayed at the hospital for two weeks, the only person who touched me was a young dude intern.

Of course to some, he could be attractive, but still weird to get fondled by a dude.
 
Aharami said:
thats not how insurance works. insurance doesnt see the bill and go...hmmm..we'll pay 13% of that. Insurance has contracted amounts for each and every procedure, and thats what the insurance pays the provider (in this case, the hospital). The EOB (explanation of benefits) sheet probably lists the amount charged (by the provider), amount allowed (as per the contract), how much the insurance pays, and how much the patient is responsible for. Amount charged by providers is always higher than amount allowed, but wow, I've never seen it that high for an appendectomy
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I had a tonsillectomy a year or so ago and I got copies of all the bills. The doctor/hospital tried to charge like $12,000 and the insurance only paid $2,000 and I had a $250 co-pay. The system is pretty fucked with all these convoluted 75% discounts imo. A lot of people I know have been to hospitals and have experienced similar cluster-fucks of a situation in terms of billed/paid.
 
dmcowen674 said:
You suck at the Internets

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=6237821

7-2-2008
Woman dies in hospital waiting room


Esmin Green, 49, had been waiting in the emergency room at the city-owned Kings County Hospital Center for nearly 24 hours when she toppled from her seat at 5:32 a.m. on June 19, falling face down on the floor.
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it does not say she was not admited because she didn't have insurance. they didn't put her in a bedroom because they didn't have room..and the fact the hospital sucks.
 
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