Hospitals are a joke!

[SarieQ]

So, I had to into the maternity ward of the hospital I'm going to deliver at for preterm labour monitoring. We got the itemised bill from the hospital or insurance company (my husband was the one that looked at it) and it is RIDICULOUS. I was there for an hour and a half and was given a shot or rhogam and had uterine monitoring. Non-sterilised supplies in the room (Kleenex, cotton gown, um bed sheets?) $450. Shot of rhogam (costs $120 without insurance to get from a pharmacy) $800 and then some dollars!!! What the heck? How can they get away with charging that? Granted we don't have to pay for most of it because of insurance, but we do have to pay 20%! I'm really at a loss as to how they get away with this.

[1bigfamily]

The insuranc ecompany won't actually let them charge that. They adjust the bill down. I used to handle the insurance where I worked previously and one person has a bill for 16,000 for having the baby. After insurance got done it was between 4000 and 5000. The people who really get it are the one's with no insurance bc they actually have to pay that bill. If they pay it all at once they can get a cash discount usually but that is it and it is only like 20%.

[cblurose]

Blah...it's nuts.

[teachermama]

We just got a bill for my son's colonoscopy/endoscopy (done at an outpatient procedure at a FANTASTIC hospital with the best ped's unit in the area) and the price was UNBELIEVEABLE. Almost 12K for a four hour procedure.............thank the LORD for insurance. I'm kinda relieved though.............because at least I know that all that money we pay into it (whie certainly not as much as some pay) is going to something. Does that sound weird? I guess I just mean that if we have to pay for it, I better be seeing the rewards from having it. They're (the ins. co.) is really gonna love us after this next C-section in Dec.............

But I agree.........it's phenomenal what they can get away with charging for!!

[ChurchPunkMom]

Disgusting, isn't it?

[bamamom]

My mother in law does billing for the hospital. She says yes, ,they do charge 20 bucks for a tylenol, but only because the insurance will only pay a certain really small percent of what they charge.

She said a person can be in the hospital, have a heart attack, open heart surgery, and then stay in CCU for 2 weeks, then regular unit for another week. They will have charges of around 600,000 but will only in the end get a few thousand. So it sounds bad, but they dont reallly get that much

[Samantha]

They really dont get that much if you have insurance...

If you dont have insurance you have to pay the BIG $$!!

[jls~Kain~Drake]

My son had an overnight stay in the pediatric ICU and an ambulance ride and it was $3500+...and my relatively easy vaginal deliveries were $10-$15K

[SarieQ]

I wish the hospitals and insurance companies would just make it easier on themselves and scrap the current goofy system. The hospitals would actually charge reasonable amounts and the insurance companies would actually pay those reasonable amounts.