Health care cost

[fatelk]

Moderator: I don't intend this to be political. If you determine it is or should be elsewhere, please move or delete at your discretion.

I know health care has been the big issue for some years now and it's all politics, but beyond the whole political fight, what's the deal with the actual cost of things?

We got a bit of a double whammy in the last month or so. My youngest daughter had to have wrist surgery last month, and then my wife just had a procedure for kidney stones. We haven't gotten all the bills yet for the wrist surgery, but what blew me away was the cost for the minimally invasive, outpatient procedure for kidney stones. The bill from the hospital alone, not including the doctor or anesthesiologist, is $24,000! Is the billing department dipping into the narcotics cabinet before making up these prices??

With our lousy coverage now this last month and a half is going to take us years to pay off, unless I sell off a whole bunch of guns and reloading gear. I don't mean to whine and gripe (well maybe a little), but it really has gotten to a shocking level. I know a lot of folks here have been through the same thing and worse.

Again, I don't mean to get political at all or talk about who and how pays for what, but I really have to wonder why everything costs so much? Why is it that they can do something for $500 in Mexico that costs $20,000 here? Yes, I know, politics and lawyers, but beyond that I just don't get it!

I know it's hard to keep politics out of this kind of thing but that's been hashed and rehashed so that's not what this is about. I'm just talking about real costs to real people. It's just frustrating that you have to go into major debt just to set foot into a hospital nowadays.

[glockfan]

doctors and hospitals are in ''business''' in the usa.

talk to canadians who are amputated of 50% of their incomes before even handling their hard earned wage.reason? universal healthcare system. now look at the quality of the service they receives. poor. in some provinces, even hazardous. no jokes.

[MyFlatline]

Attorney's and frivolous juries coupled with those who refuse to pay ( at least make an effort) MHO

[lightload]

Before you sell valued possessions, I urge you to consider making some minimum payment each month. I don't know where the money is going but suspect that the not for profit(ha)medical corporations are getting most of it. Having had back surgery, I know where you're coming from.

[osteodoc08]

Most doctors are not entrenched in the business side of things. At least I’m not nor are any of my colleagues. We’re hourly workers.

Hospitals and corporations on the other hand.......it’s ridiculous.

Don’t pay the bill. Call and negotiate for a lower rate and put it on a payment plan. The reason why it’s so much is you’re one of the few that actually want to pay their medical bills (compared to the whole). Want to get even more mad? Come see these idiots with their deservitude mentality and government insurance (Medicaid) that come to the ER for every little stupid thing and complain if they have to pay 50¢ while wanting to go back outside to smoke on our non smoking campus and drinking their big gulp while complaining of nausea and vomiting and demanding narcotics for their 10/10 pain while not even looking at the nurse because they’re playing candy crush on a newer iPhone than I have and having a difficult time taping the screen because of their disgustingly long and flamboyantly painted nails. Meanwhile, thanks to government surveys such as HCAPS and press Ganey scores, we can’t tell an idiot they’re idiots because our scores will drop and so won’t our reimbursements.

Last shift I had some 22yo female on disability and on Medicaid for “anxiety” that has had over 30 visits in the last 10 months for stupid stuff. None of which were true medical emergencies and she showed no evidence of a debilitating anxiety. We report the abuses, but nothing is ever done.

Want a good laugh, look at ZdoggMD parody and dark Vader spoofs.

The medical system is broke. I feel like I’ve done well if there are a few patients I’m actually able to help every shift.

[MyFlatline]

Before you sell valued possessions, I urge you to consider making some minimum payment each month. I don't know where the money is going but suspect that the not for profit(ha)medical corporations are getting most of it. Having had back surgery, I know where you're coming from.

Wrong quote

[MyFlatline]

Most doctors are not entrenched in the business side of things. At least I’m not nor are any of my colleagues. We’re hourly workers.

Hospitals and corporations on the other hand.......it’s ridiculous.

Don’t pay the bill. Call and negotiate for a lower rate and put it on a payment plan. The reason why it’s so much is you’re one of the few that actually want to pay their medical bills (compared to the whole). Want to get even more mad? Come see these idiots with their deservitude mentality and government insurance (Medicaid) that come to the ER for every little stupid thing and complain if they have to pay 50¢ while wanting to go back outside to smoke on our non smoking campus and drinking their big gulp while complaining of nausea and vomiting and demanding narcotics for their 10/10 pain while not even looking at the nurse because they’re playing candy crush on a newer iPhone than I have and having a difficult time taping the screen because of their disgustingly long and flamboyantly painted nails. Meanwhile, thanks to government surveys such as HCAPS and press Ganey scores, we can’t tell an idiot they’re idiots because our scores will drop and so won’t our reimbursements.

Last shift I had some 22yo female on disability and on Medicaid for “anxiety” that has had over 30 visits in the last 10 months for stupid stuff. None of which were true medical emergencies and she showed no evidence of a debilitating anxiety. We report the abuses, but nothing is ever done.

Want a good laugh, look at ZdoggMD parody and dark Vader spoofs.

The medical system is broke. I feel like I’ve done well if there are a few patients I’m actually able to help every shift.

Great post, I agree 100%

[GhostHawk]

For the last 15 years the medical profession has been running about a 40% per year inflation. While the rest of the economy runs at the 2% the carefully selected items the government tracks. To 4-6% real inflation economist's track.

10 years that is a 400% increase in your cost.

The medical profession decided that if the government is going to discount their bills and only pay half. They will just keep raising rates until they are all rich enough to not care.

But don't take my word for it.

Some of you are lucky, you still have choices for insurance. North Dakota we have 2, only 2 for the whole state. This one or that one. It used to be one.

Delay, Negotiate a better figure. Start at half of theirs. Then start minimal payments, don't miss any. Don't sell your possessions. Fight, battle, drag your feet. Take out some extra life insurance to pay it off if one of you dies. Make sure there is enough to bury that person also.

Not whole life, term.

[Beerd]

Ask for an itemized bill.
..

[rancher1913]

if they did away with the rule that says a emergency room can not turn you away if you can not pay, it would stop a lot of the illegals from getting service for free. they are conveniently visiting a relative in the USA when they go into labor and they walk away with out paying a cent. the hospital has to cover that expense somehow.

[bdicki]

And people that don't work get free health care.

[fatelk]

Unfortunately I can’t afford life insurance. I went through cancer over a decade ago. We caught it early and got rid of it. The doctor said after two years I was statistically “cured” because the odds of recurrence were the same as the general population. In other words it a total non-issue for me but since there’s a “history of cancer”, for me life insurance is completely unaffordable.

[fatelk]

The hospital said that since my insurance paid a percentage of the bill, there was nothing to negotiate on our part.

[Sweetpea]

The hospital said that since my insurance paid a percentage of the bill, there was nothing to negotiate on our part.

Try again.

Talk to somebody else.

Keep going up the ladder.

Be polite, and appeal to their sense of reason.

[osteodoc08]

The hospital said that since my insurance paid a percentage of the bill, there was nothing to negotiate on our part.

BS. I just negotiated a bill of 560 down to 370 and paid it off over the phone today for my sons surgery last fall. If they won’t budge tell them to pound sand and send to collections. Collection agencies PURCHASE YOUR DEBT for pennies on the dollar for the HOPE OF RECOVERING MORE THAN THEY PAID. (Then hospitals use the negative “owed” as a write off on taxes and receive credit for that as a “nonprofit”)

Stay strong brother. Don’t give up your life and hard earned wealth for some corporate greed.

[fatelk]

Thanks, we'll call again. My wife thinks something's funky with the bill anyway; things don't add up. Hopefully there's been a mistake, but I don't dare count on it.

It's crazy how bad it's gotten in the last decade. Just over ten years ago with the cancer, surgery and weeks of radiation, my cost was around $1500 iirc. Now, working a better job with the same company, a relatively minor procedure, in and out in a couple hours, my cost is many times that. Part of that is medical cost, and the other part is the company going full-cheapskate on benefits.

On the total opposite side of things, my wife informed me that we have indeed gotten the statement for our daughter's surgery. Our total part for actual surgery with a scalpel, including the surgeon, anesthesiologist, MRI, hospital and everything, after going through the same insurance: she says it came to just over $800. That seems super reasonable for what they did. I think we're big fans of Shriners Children's Hospital. I also think they get a lot of contributions to help keep the costs down.

This isn't going to totally break us; it just really hurts. I've read enough on here over the years to know that we're not alone in this sort of thing and some have gone through a lot worse. It's frustrating when you work so hard for so long pinching pennies to try to save a few, and something happens like this. I really won't have to sell off any gun stuff to pay the bills, but the responsible side of me kind of feels like I should.

I have to agree a bit about corporate greed. I used to not see it that way when I was younger, but over the years I've known enough corporate-minded folks to get an insight into how most of them think. It's all about the company and climbing that ladder; the next promotion, raise, and bonus. They talk the talk about "valuing the employees" but in reality we're just so much corporate property to be used and abused as they see fit. Dang I'm getting cynical!

[osteodoc08]

Not cynical fatelk, just brutally honest.

Stay strong brother. Prayers for health happiness and wholeness through this ordeal

[fatelk]

Thank you, I sincerely appreciate that!

[ih772]

Like the doc in this thread said, let it go to a debt collector. You have a lot more negotiating power with the debt collectors if you don't do a payment plan but offer a chunk of money to settle the debt instead. For example if your bill is $24,000 offer them $4,000 instead. Take a look at Dave Ramsey's youtube channel, it will tell you how to negotiate medical debt. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvO8wbDurVE

[Hickory]

Trying not to make this political but, government regulations and the high cost of malpractice insurance for all those involved in healthcare accounts for a lot of the cost of healthcare.