Holy medical bill!!!!!!!

[BP348]

Holy crap! :eek:

+1!!!

I know a guy who was in a car accident. The ambulance ride was less than 2 blocks. total cost......around $5000 :eek:

[greenhead]

+1!!!

I know a guy who was in a car accident. The ambulance ride was less than 2 blocks. total cost......around $5000 :eek:

OH CRAP! I haven't been billed for the ambulance ride! :eek:

[cntryboy0531]

That seems like a lot, even for today's hospital bills. I know where some of the money goes, to pay for people who they treat and don't have insurance, but I wonder where the rest of it goes? Contrary to what a lot of liberals scream, hospitals don't have that high a profit margin.

But it's no wonder my health insurance premiums go up 15% every year. Oh well, in two more years, I'll be on gubmint medicare......:rolleyes:

I worked at a Hospital prior to becoming a cop, worked in the Business Office and dealt with all the financial crap. "most" hospitals don't make much of a profit.

Bill is broken down into different ways. If you have Insurance, and let's say you have a $20,000 bill..

You owe your deductable or co-pay.
Insurance will take that $20,000 and in all reality pay quite a bit less than that. Insurance companies have what's called "contractual rates". They only pay what they are required to, per their contract with the hospital. I've seen some insurance company's pay less than their patient pays. Hospital's don't have much room to "negotaite" higher pay rates, as if they don't settle on a price the insurance company likes, the insurance company stops allowing their subscribers to go to that hospital.

Part of the high price is to makeup for people that don't have insurance and don't pay their bills. The hospital that I worked for, all they could do to people that didn't pay their bills was report them to a credit collection agency and attack their credit rating. That works nicely until you get to the people that don't care to begin with about their credit rating. So, lots of hospitals end up eating the cost of the visit and recieve little compensation for the cost of providing the medical care.

Other part of the high price is to makeup for the low rates the insurance companies pay in the end.

The only people that really take it in the backside are low to middle class people who care about their credit rating, and have no insurance. They end up being stuck with 100% of the price.

I really don't blame hospitals for the high cost of medical care. I blame the insurance companies and the slack jawed yokels who don't want to pay their medical bills, but insist upon getting medical care regardless. Plus not even to get into my soap box of how illegal immigration screws with the medical system all together.

[Hockey9019]

I have no insurance right now.

If I was to get a kidney stone, and I know I feel one coming on again for some reason...(really...I've done all the right things too)

There is some meds and procedures I will have to have that will most likely put it in the 50k range...


If that happens, there won't be no me making payments issues...

I'm just going to ask for them to take the kidney out :eek: :p


Too bad it seems like jobs that actually offer any "affordable" insurance (Yes, I said affordable. Not insurance that takes 75% of your check) are far and few between in MI

[greenhead]

Hockey,
I'm sending you a pm.

[ngcsubutterbar]

Hockey you think you have it bad, try having to pay the entire amount due to being 'an independent contractor' talking 380 a month.

[Hockey9019]

Hockey you think you have it bad, try having to pay the entire amount due to being 'an independent contractor' talking 380 a month.

My dad had the same problem when he was an independent driver...


Healthcare needs to be completely changed in this country...its ridiculous

[retdetsgt]

Hockey you think you have it bad, try having to pay the entire amount due to being 'an independent contractor' talking 380 a month.

I pay $435 a month as a retiree. And I get the city price for it!

[retdetsgt]

Healthcare needs to be completely changed in this country...its ridiculous

As P. J. O'Rourke said, "If you think medical care is expensive now, wait until it's free".

I just read where 29% of the money Medicare paid out for things like motorized chairs was to fraudulent sources. I bet a lot more money the government spends on Medicare goes to crooked doctors and such and no one bothers to look into it. My doctor told me that the state questions his medicaid bills now and then, but Medicare has never done anything but send him the money. And he's an older doctor, not a new one.

Some governments might do fine with socialized medicine, but ours sucks at it.

[BP348]

You'ed be amazed at what white collar crimes cost everyone.

I was told that the whole S&L loan scam cost every man, woman, & child in the country around $6K :eek: