Hospital bill summary.... GEEZE LOUISE!

[Robin'sBrood]

Well, it came today. The summary of the bill that was sent to our insurance company. I'm still in shock and disbelief over it.

If you read my other thread then you know that I had a large kidney stone that left my right kidney and lodged in my ureter 2 weeks ago, at about 11:00 p.m. After several agonizing hours at home - while in excruciating pain and experiencing multiple bouts of severe vomiting - my DH took me to the ER.

After being in triage for a while I was put in a tiny, private room. I had a CT scan done of my kidneys and the urologist said there was no way I would be able to pass the stone on my own because it was too big. So, I had to have surgery to put a stent in my kidney and leading down to my bladder, and I had to have the stone broken up by laser so that I could pass it in pieces. I was in the hospital for less than 12 hours.

And here is the summary of my hospital bill.

Emergency Department $2,316.25
OR supplies 1,684.00
Anesthesia 2,104.00
Pharmacy 42.83
Pathology/Lab Service 311.00
CAT Scan 3,530.00
Room & Bed 633.00
Radiology 722.00
OR Services 7,435.52
Recovery/PACU 973.30
Central Supply 183.60
___________
Total $19,935.50

 

[AussieSharon]

This is the whole reason insurance is so high and so many people can't afford it.

Glad you are ok!

 

[key west chick]

I feel your pain. I had a total ab hysterectomy last August. My surgery took 45 minutes. I stayed 2 nights. It was around $15,000, if I remember right. But that was for everything, the hospital, anesth, path, and my ob/gyn. I want to say out of pocket was about $3500. Insurance took care of the rest, thank goodness.

 

[The Chicken Lady]

My husband was in the hospital for three weeks last July. I'll let you guys do the math.

I thank God our parents were strict and made sure we went to college... There are many paths to good insurance, of course, but at least we had it or we'd be living in a cardboard box right now. (That, or DH wouldn't be on this earth anymore...

).

 

[KellyHM]

Wow! And people think vets charge a lot!

I could do that entire thing (including CT) to a dog for under $2500.

Glad your surgery went well though. Hope you don't need any more!

 

[Royicus]

I had a cardiac ablation done many years ago. It was about a 4 hour procedure for me (typically 2.5 hrs) and cost about $30,000 or so. It is very expensive.

 

[conny63malies]

My DS had a six figure bill before he was even a year old. THank God for our military health insurance.

 

[Highlander]

People in the UK complain about the NHS (National Health Service) constantly, but my goodness when I read things like this I am so glad we have it!!

 

[beak]

Insurance will probably pay about 6 or 7k on that bill. If you didn't have insurance you would owe what's on the bill. The sad part is the hospital can function just fine on what the insurance company pays them. When you get your next hospital bill after the insurance has paid you will see where the hospital will put insurance write off on the part the insurance doesn't pay. So the hospital has total charges for the year of 100 million dollars. The insurance companies pay them 30 million per their agreement for fair charges. The hospital writes off 70 million and doesn't pay any tax on the 30 million they earned.

The bills aren't through yet. Next you'll get one from the anesthesiologist, the surgeon that did the procedure, the emergency room physicians, x-ray interpreter if x-rays were involved,multiple lab bills. Be sure to keep everything and compare insurance statements to hospital bills so you don't get double charged on co-pays.

That's why we need health reform. Could you imagine if you didn't have insurance. You would have to claim bankruptcy. They say 60% of all bankruptcies are for hospital bills.

 

[EweSheep]

Quote:
Could you enlighten us why UK insurance is better? I thought getting doctors is a long time affair LOL!