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What is the cost for admission for one night at a hospital for simple emergency dialysis session and overnight observation?
$3000???.nope, more.
$10,000, nope, more.
$15,000. Nope.
How about $18,500 and this does not include the cost of doctors and lab tests
Y
worse that hospital sucks epacially the nurse was overworked, rude an incompetent

First let me say that I am sorry that you had to use a hospital and I hope that all will be well. Now then, the issue you raised is so complex that this forum cant even begin to adequately address it. It involves the tennets of free enterprise and public policy. The number that you gave is from bill? if so then it has little to do with the cost and everything to do with the shifting of responsibilities for paying for healthcare among a variety of payors. The absolutley last thing any individual wants to do is become the responsible party for the bill on their own. There is a hierarchy of payors who each pay different percentages of the charges on a hospital bill depending on the negotiated contracts in place. The individual who is paying out of pocket gets stuck with a non discounted bill. If you are in this position I urge you to contact the hospital's finance department to see if they will negotiate the bill with you. If you have some insurance coverage then the billed amount becomes less important than the co-pays and deductables.
In spite of years of working in the industry when we have had to use the system I have been amazed at how difficult it is to navigate the maze of rules, rates and reimbursement issues that comes from both the hospitals and the insurance companies. In the end I am just grateful that access to care is easy and that advanced patient care is an option.

Yep. It was from EOB. Insurance paid after 4k deductible. I will never go without a family insurance plan even when cost of said insurance is $18,000 per year under cobra or private health vare insurance.

I hear ya man. My ankle surgery and one night in the hospital was $34,000.Fortunate my part is only a percentage of that.

Part of the issue also is pure mathematics. Insurance companies and medicare say that they will pay (let's say just for the example) 25% of the billed charges. The hospitals know that and therefore quadruple the bill so that they will get what they really wanted in the first place. I don't know what the exact % is at the moment, but it is only a fraction of the bill.

EOB should show the amount charged, the amount allowed for service (discounted rate), and the amount or % patient / payor is responsible for.
If you have 80/20 with a 4k out-of-pocket deductible.... you maxed out for the year.... get anything else fixed you need too ....it's kinda "on the house" now.
If you are the sole responsible party....ouch.... you're gonna get punished. However, ask for a itemized bill, ask for a nurse review of the statement. Sometimes you'll find items double billed etc. Then seek to negotiate with the business office regarding discounts etc.
Sorry to hear of your health care troubles.

gemini wrote:EOB should show the amount charged, the amount allowed for service (discounted rate), and the amount or % patient / payor is responsible for.
If you have 80/20 with a 4k out-of-pocket deductible.... you maxed out for the year.... get anything else fixed you need too ....it's kinda "on the house" now.
If you are the sole responsible party....ouch.... you're gonna get punished. However, ask for a itemized bill, ask for a nurse review of the statement. Sometimes you'll find items double billed etc. Then seek to negotiate with the business office regarding discounts etc.
Sorry to hear of your health care troubles.

The EOB rejected the hospital claim, since not itemized and no billing codes were provided. The hospital is appealing. shady billing or ripping off the insurance co.

You can try negotiating with the hospital. Also:
http://lifehacker.com/5620445/always-qu ... final-cost
http://lifehacker.com/5596456/lower-you ... ment-offer
http://consumerist.com/2012/02/save-mon ... arges.html
http://consumerist.com/2010/07/deflate- ... -call.html

The comments also usually have good advice and helpful experiences.

Check out the links. 30 minutes reading and 30 minutes on the phone could save you $1000+.

EDIT: just read your update. Yeah, that is shady.

Thomas wrote:You can try negotiating with the hospital. Also:
http://lifehacker.com/5620445/always-qu ... final-cost
http://lifehacker.com/5596456/lower-you ... ment-offer
http://consumerist.com/2012/02/save-mon ... arges.html
http://consumerist.com/2010/07/deflate- ... -call.html

The comments also usually have good advice and helpful experiences.

Check out the links. 30 minutes reading and 30 minutes on the phone could save you $1000+.
EDIT: just read your update. Yeah, that is shady.

Or have someone call for you. My sister-in-law [former RN who worked for an insurance company] did this and got a $30,000 hospital bill reduced to nothing.

I sympathize with ya. I had a recent helicopter ride to the ER after an auto accident. I had head injuries so they thought it was necessary. The chopper bill was $22,249.00. Haven't heard from the ER, Dr., xray, local ambulance, and lab yet. Bad thing was they never found the cow I hit so I can't pursue it's owner's insurance. All that was left was some hair, patches of skin, cow excrement, and my car with the roof crushed down over my head. It "walked" away before I was found (2:30 am).

Edit to update: Received the ER/xray/lab bill today 3/13/12--------$29,636.50. But they gave my insurance a $27,365.41 discount

2farnorth wrote:I sympathize with ya. I had a recent helicopter ride to the ER after an auto accident. I had head injuries so they thought it was necessary. The chopper bill was $22,249.00. Haven't heard from the ER, Dr., xray, local ambulance, and lab yet. Bad thing was they never found the cow I hit so I can't pursue it's owner's insurance. All that was left was some hair, patches of skin, cow excrement, and my car with the roof crushed down over my head. It "walked" away before I was found (2:30 am).

Too bad they don't do DNA testing for cows.

I had to go to a place which turned out to be an "ER" after I came back from a vacation on a sunday night with some gnarly bites from the tropics. I was there for 7 minutes for them to look at them with a look, give me a script for some steroid cream and a tetnis shot...

Bill: $500.52 and they charged me a $100 co-pay even though my insurance shouldn't have a co-pay

These places need a price list up-front.

$18,5K is absurd for what you described.