Medical bill questions

A buddy of mine was drinking over a weekend and became dehydrated and went to the emergency room he was rehydrated and released the same day but after receiving the medical bill the medical bill was $17,000 I'm on here just curious if there's any reason to why I hydration or a rehydration should cost $17,000 a little later I will post some of the medical bills so you guys can look at discrepancies but for now just off the top of your head if anybody in the medical career could comment about whether or not a procedure like this cost $17,000 in Pennsylvania

a reply to: Antipathy17

PS I'm on mobile and using the Push to Talk so it didn't put any of the sentence structure

Kind of crazy what they charge for stuff nowadays. He might be able to go in and negotiate a better price or inquire why it is so high and contest the charges. Depending on what they do, having a big bill like that is possible. You sure don't want to get bit by a rattler because that can run a hundred grand. Most of that cost is the medicine, only one approved supplier in the US for that.

I am not saying that it is right, just that they probably can charge that much.

a reply to: Antipathy17

Outrageous medical costs... One of the many problems in our American Health Care system.

If someone called 911…

1) Emergency medical transport. EMTs, fire and ambulance ride.

2) Emergency Room treatment, doctors, nurses, whatever tests they preformed to find the problem.

3) Moved from emergency to hospital bed. IV drip, liquids, monitoring till declared fit for release.

4) if overnight stay, cha-ching…

NY Times

a reply to: Antipathy17

That seems a little ridiculous. Avg. ER visit, not overnight $500, plus IV's and doctor bill. I would say $1,800 maybe. I have seen ridiculous bills. When my wife was attacked and daughter born early as a result I got a bill for over $500K with a big red note, due in 10 days. I laughed. What do they think, let me just grab my wallet here? I had bills in the millions range. Thank God the US government stepped in and told the hospital they could write it off on their taxes, which made the hospital happy.

You know, my doctors visits went up about 2.5x as a result of the ACA. They raise the bills so high because the ACA pays only partial like medicaid and medicare. So, they just bill more to get paid the same. If your friend calls in for a cash price he may be surprised. I have these $400+ lab fees for a drug test every 3 months and they accept $55 cash. Billing is an insurance game, not a cash price game. That is probably why it is so high.

a reply to: spirit_horse

Hospital fees are still high because there has been little change in the number of people that are not insured with any plan and they still go to the hospital and use a phony name, address, etc. The hospitals get stiffed and they attempt to pass that along to those that are insured and/or can pay. ACA is not working and anyone with any sense knew that it would not.

a reply to: Antipathy17

Maybe they've applied a stupidy tax to the bill.

Who the hell goes to the ER because they were drinking and got dehydrated? I have these wonderful devices in my home that dispense a very cost effective remedy for dehydration. We call it water in these parts.

Something is missing here. This isn't the whole story.

The diagnostics they did to determine the cause of the presenting symptoms (and rule out anything that will get them sued for malpractice) ain't cheap. That's for sure. Especially when the insurance company demands a 50% discount...meaning the original price is just simply doubled to accomodate it.

originally posted by: WeRpeons
a reply to: Antipathy17

Outrageous medical costs... One of the many problems in our American Health Care system.

No. Its the lack of insurance coverage. Obamacare fixed our medical system.....see? People are now covered. And if they aren't...that's their fault.

The insurance companies aren't to blame...they're your friends. We just need to have everybody drink the koola...er, buy into the plan, so that everyone can afford basic medical care. oO

a reply to: Ksihkehe

LOL! My cousin went to the hospital after eating a pot brownie. He had a panic attack.

You guys will get universal healthcare one day... The tides are changing, slowly but surely.