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

[zinfamous]

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*.

that is not the proper charge for that type of surgery.

you are clueless.

 

[Lifted]

here in Canada healthcare is free

:biggrin:

 

[Lifted]

that is not the proper charge for that type of surgery.

you are clueless.

He's not too sharp. The "special" people should be cut some slack.

 

[NL5]

Getting the best care in the world cast money.

Apparently, so does getting the 37th best.

 

[Kommander_Kink]

that is not the proper charge for that type of surgery.

This is the first smart thing you have ever said, congrats.

That operation should had cost around $3,000 tops.

 

[Patranus]

Apparently, so does getting the 37th best.

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?

 

[Bignate603]

Wow you Americans have it hard and painful down there, here in Canada healthcare is free, a friend of mine just got a kidney transplant after a 2-year wait and his charge was $0 dollars, as a matter of fact, he was given about $3,500 in complementary drugs afterwards, the rest of the drugs will be cover by his employer insurance which is the second safety net we Canadians have for miscellaneous medical stuff.

.

Don't kid yourself, healthcare that's funded by taxes is not free. They just take the money in different ways.

Also, your friend waited for 2 years before he got his transplant. Do you know how long I'd wait for a transplant if I needed it? Only as long as it took to find a donor. Living for 2 years waiting (or worse, NOT living) for a transplant is not a good thing.

This is the first smart thing you have ever said, congrats.

That operation should had cost around $3,000 tops.

Are you in medical billing now?

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?

It's very good if you can pay or have good insurance.

 

[Lifted]

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?

 

[Engineer]

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?

We may have some of the best "specialty" care in the world....but only if you can "afford" it. The affordability is the reason that we have the 37th best in the world, not because of the quality of the individual services. The US just plain sucks when it comes to healthcare for it's citizens compared to other countries, not to mention a per capita cost of more than double what the rest of the industrialized world pays.

 

[nonameo]

Don't kid yourself, healthcare that's funded by taxes is not free. They just take the money in different ways.

Also, your friend waited for 2 years before he got his transplant. Do you know how long I'd wait for a transplant if I needed it? Only as long as it took to find a donor. Living for 2 years waiting (or worse, NOT living) for a transplant is not a good thing.

Well, except that while it is very inconvenient, there is still dialysis for people lacking good kidney function. So, it's not like a heart transplant that has to be done right away.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

$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.

If you make $10/hour then you might want to spend more of your free time getting a better job.

 

[Kommander_Kink]

Also, your friend waited for 2 years before he got his transplant. Do you know how long I'd wait for a transplant if I needed it? Only as long as it took to find a donor.

Well that's exactly why my friend waited 2 years, otherwise the operation would had been done the same week.

 

[Engineer]

If you make $10/hour then you might want to spend more of your free time getting a better job.

That's right...EVERYONE can get a job making more than $10 per hour. There are more than enough unfilled $10+ per hour jobs out there right now that's just ready for the filling.

 

[KeithTalent]

Don't kid yourself, healthcare that's funded by taxes is not free. They just take the money in different ways.

Also, your friend waited for 2 years before he got his transplant. Do you know how long I'd wait for a transplant if I needed it? Only as long as it took to find a donor. Living for 2 years waiting (or worse, NOT living) for a transplant is not a good thing.

Obviously it's paid via taxes etc. Who the hell is debating otherwise?

My old boss got a liver transplant and only had to wait for a donor; waiting for a matching donor is always the problem. What else would they be waiting for? You think they have a surplus of organs and just hold off on doing the transplants because they are not getting paid enough?

KT

 

[Bignate603]

That's right...EVERYONE can get a job making more than $10 per hour. There are more than enough unfilled $10+ per hour jobs out there right now that's just ready for the filling.

And those low paying jobs don't need to get done. They'll just disappear when everybody moves to high paying jobs with amazing insurance.

 

[Dominato3r]

Don't kid yourself, healthcare that's funded by taxes is not free. They just take the money in different ways.

Also, your friend waited for 2 years before he got his transplant. Do you know how long I'd wait for a transplant if I needed it? Only as long as it took to find a donor. Living for 2 years waiting (or worse, NOT living) for a transplant is not a good thing.

Sorry boss but you cant just put the first available organ into someone.

 

[zinfamous]

Apparently, so does getting the 37th best.

lol.



No doubt, the US excels with specialty procedures, but other countries are just as talented: Germany, UK.

we fall far behind on primary care, though. And it up with far, far too many serious, and very expensive procedures.

 

[ElFenix]

lol.



No doubt, the US excels with specialty procedures, but other countries are just as talented: Germany, UK.

we fall far behind on primary care, though. And it up with far, far too many serious, and very expensive procedures.

technically, if you get care it's top notch.

if being the key word.

i very much doubt an appendectomy in singapore results in significantly worse medical outcomes than an appendectomy here, yet those bastards are spending 1/4 of what we do on medical care (that's half as much as the euros, so why we hold up euros as our model i don't know).

 

[RedCOMET]

$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.

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.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

Also, your friend waited for 2 years before he got his transplant. Do you know how long I'd wait for a transplant if I needed it? Only as long as it took to find a donor.

You're an idiot. It's not like there's a abundance of organs laying around, and in the US they just go out and kill some Mexican for it whereas in Canada they like to let their organs age for a few years before doling them out.

 

[Soccerman06]

When my appendix ruptured twice when I was 11 and was missdiagnosed by the hospital (mayo clinic) twice and finally did go, I was in ic for a week after immediate surgery and sat in the hospital for a month after that for draining the puss. I finally got out and the parents weren't even given a bill for my stay for 3 years. It totalled over $400k all said and done, but insurance and us didn't pay anything. Can yall guess why?

 

[11Blade]

$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.

Alot of people have responded and firstly I hope you survived without any mishap, infection, complication etc.

The real problem is those charges were probably the "billed charges" by the hospital and associated departments. There is already a negotiated rate between the insurance company and the hospital. If you didn't have insurance, you would have been on the hook for the whole thing DESPITE the fact it cost a fraction of that.

There are many factors that are completely and truly screwed up in healthcare, one of them being the complete NONTRANSPARENCY in how much things cost and the fact everybody gets a different price.

There are too many people drinking from the medical-industrial-govt complex spigot for things to change.

By the way, don't believe that all doctors/surgeons are equal in skill and knowledge. You can't doctor shop in an emergency either and guess what, you were at the mercy of whoever the ER doc/hospital chose.

Its a system that needs radical rethinking and having worked in the system for 20 years, I completely abhor it. it preys on the uninformed and the people who can least afford to get sick.

11Blade

 

[Engineer]

Alot of people have responded and firstly I hope you survived without any mishap, infection, complication etc.

The real problem is those charges were probably the "billed charges" by the hospital and associated departments. There is already a negotiated rate between the insurance company and the hospital. If you didn't have insurance, you would have been on the hook for the whole thing DESPITE the fact it cost a fraction of that.

There are many factors that are completely and truly screwed up in healthcare, one of them being the complete NONTRANSPARENCY in how much things cost and the fact everybody gets a different price.

There are too many people drinking from the medical-industrial-govt complex spigot for things to change.

By the way, don't believe that all doctors/surgeons are equal in skill and knowledge. You can't doctor shop in an emergency either and guess what, you were at the mercy of whoever the ER doc/hospital chose.

Its a system that needs radical rethinking and having worked in the system for 20 years, I completely abhor it. it preys on the uninformed and the people who can least afford to get sick.

11Blade

Absolutely agree.

 

[jhu]

It's unlikely the total insurance payout is $46k. That's just a bill the hospital sends to them. The hospital and the insurance company already have negotiated rates for these things.

 

[Corporate Thug]

my insurance got billed 8k for a 1 hour MRI