$29,000+ for 5 minutes in ER??

I simply dont know if I can believe this. A boy is beaten and near death. The ambulance takes him to the emergency room. They work on him 5 minutes before he dies. The bill comes to $29,000+. WTF?

www.youtube.com...



These jokers actually have the balls to call this 'healthcare'. I call it fraud. What do you call it??

This was reported in local news (here) yesterday and has been picked up by lots of other sources, as well.

Their bill will be dropped as "good will" by the hospital, I''m betting.

Pathetic.

EXCUSE ME? are you serious wow... Definitely fraud in my books, what is the world coming to? All anyone cares about is money! As if the parents aren't facing a hard enough time as it is. This is how it should be: You pay for your doctors visits etc. when your healthy, and when you actually need it you get it for free, thats what I think.

Heck where I live once you fill out the forms in the ER you are charged $800 before you even head back to see the doctor. My daughters medical bill for her first seizure the total cost before the commission for child disabilities paid for it was $22,000 total for medicine IV's blood work and 1 night stay.

Then they still didn't know what it exactly was and sent us to a bigger/better hospital to seek help. The IMO are out for money not to help people, they don't even check charts to see if you have underlining problems or previous health conditions.

On a good note though the better hospital staff took 3 hrs. to figure out my daughter had epilepsy did all test to figure out the cause for it. Though we haven't found the cause we have gotten better info on how to help and treat the situation for our daughter.

My daughter got a 15,000 dollar bill from the local hospital for taking one of her children to the emergency room. I don't even remember what the illness or injury was. I doubt my granddaughter even remembers it.
Like my daughter could pay that much money. Sheesh! She makes too much money to have government paid health care. And she doesn't earn enough to even buy insurance, let alone pay for co-payments if she had the insurance. Up until that time, my wife and I helped her out. It seems to be the moral thing for us to do for family. But, uh, 15,000 dollars?!! We don't have it, and my daughter sure as hell doesn't have it. So, the bill sits there, unpaid. We get three automated phone calls a day from a collection agency wanting my daughter to pay this bill. She did try to arrange for a payment plan, but it was rejected. Oh, yeah. Pay it all now!! Payment plans are unacceptable. Oh, well, then don't get paid at all and rack up some more charges, oh, dear hospital, for a collection agency.

It's quite obvious the U.S. needs heatlh care reform of some sort. I don't have the answers. But what we have now, isn't working out well for way too many people.

American healthcare = backwards.

At least Ombama is on the right track.

Thank GOD i was born in England.

[edit on 5-11-2009 by mr-lizard]

reply to post by mr-lizard


Obama on the right track?

Ya, let the people who couldn't even implement cash for clunkers manage UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE

reply to post by ModernAcademia


I thought Obama wanted cheaper or even free healthcare for those who couldn't afford it?

What's wrong with that?

Or do Americans like elitist systems???

Some years back I ended up in the emergency room with chest pains and received a $9,000 bill for an overnight stay in the hospital. I contacted billing and filled out forms to work out a payment plan with the hospital. Since, I didn't want it to ruin my credit and I had no health insurance. I showed them my assets and income which was about $1,000 a month before taxes at that time. I was pretty much low income. The hospital billing department sent me the payment plan. They wanted $3,000 a month for three months! They knew I couldn't pay it. They simply didn't care that I couldn't pay that amount.

So, they ended up having to write of the amount instead of getting paid. If they treat everyone in the same manner as they did me, it's no wonder they have to charge so much to cover those that can not pay.

Oh no, we don't need healthcare reform in the US. 29,000 for 5 mins. What have got against people earning a living. Give poor people free healthcare??? What kind of nazi are you?

reply to post by ModernAcademia
Universal Health Care IS NOT the plan, and you know it. Yet, once again someone has misstated the aims of health care reform to further their political agenda. "Universal Heath Care" is not what is being proposed, and in fact has NEVER been on the table. If you want to argue policy, fine, but please have the adult sense to argue honestly.

Originally posted by damwel
Give poor people free healthcare??? What kind of nazi are you?

There's no such thing as free healthcare, not unless you put a gun to someones head and force them to work for free or enact a law requiring YOU to be responsible someone else's living/dying expenses. Nothing is free, nor should it be. If your "right" imposes a "demand" upon another to do something for you, then it's NOT a "right" but rather an enslavement. Be honest with yourselves.

reply to post by mr-lizard


That's what he says that he wants. The problem is that the legislation doesn't say it. If you go with Obama's numbers, there is something like 45 million people with out health insurance in the US. The proposed legislation will only cover something like 12 million. This legislation is being used as a vehicle for a big power grab by government. If you don't believe me, let me ask one question. Why is there a section in this bill dealing with vending machines?

This is why I believe in some form a collective medical care system. Being a libertarian that believes in the individual rights to do as they please, there is a danger in allowing individuals to control aspects of things all of us need. Likewise there is a danger in government controlling aspects of things we do not necessarily need.

Food, Healthcare, Housing, equal access to public facilities, common defense are things that concern us all and this is the only thing I'm willing to pay into as a collective union of states. I realize the term libertarian has been maimed even in it's own party. However, the true form of libertarianism is slightly socialist focused around the individual as a collective part of a community. And yes, somehow socialism has been equated with communism but it isn't such.

reply to post by mr-lizard


NO OBAMA IS NOT ON THE RIGHT TRACK. You can see my post about it here.

Thanks praxis for another post on this topical issue. S and F. BTW great avatar of the Avian Flu Virus.

$6,744.28 cents for 6 hours sitting in a cold room all alone for atleast 5 hours... and they never took care of what I came in for... did not even stop the pain. oh, I had a pulled back muscle. and my insurance only paid $3Grand... and I pay them 3,600 a year... my limit is 3,000$ ... per year.
needless to say - I cant wait till the SHTF... PBT.


[edit on 5-11-2009 by Anti-Evil]