Hospitals Are Expensive...

Expensive indeed.

If you think thats bad, don't ever get actually hurt.

I was in an accident in 2006, and had to be airlifted to the closest trauma center. They billed me $20K for the heli ride, plus about $2500 a day in ICU, $75K for a brain surgury and the accompanianing drugs. As I was looking down the itimized bill, I was shocked by one charge:

$75 catheter removal.

Seriously, they charged 75 bucks for that, when it took less than a second and I could have done it myself.

What happens if you can't pay for the charges?

@Oddity: Absolutely! I'm not complaining about some outrageous claims, just that it's pretty expensive to be in any sort of comfort.

They charged you $75 for a catheter removal!? Wow....

That's the emergency room, for you.

@Bloody:

I think they give you a payment plan, and if you don't pay that, you get taken to court.

It wasn't emergency, it was ICU when I was being discharged.

As for payment, I had insurance which covered about 70% the rest goes to collections.

[quote name='0ddity' post='3193389' date='Oct 12 2010, 12:14 AM']If you think thats bad, don't ever get actually hurt.

I was in an accident in 2006, and had to be airlifted to the closest trauma center. They billed me $20K for the heli ride, plus about $2500 a day in ICU, $75K for a brain surgury and the accompanianing drugs. As I was looking down the itimized bill, I was shocked by one charge:

$75 catheter removal.

Seriously, they charged 75 bucks for that, when it took less than a second and I could have done it myself.[/quote]

That is one damn expensive heli ride.
"Yeah, uh fuck it guys, i'll drag myself there."
Ditto for the brain surgery.

But yeah those charges are just horrific. Though Monkat, your charges are pretty insane as well considering what you paid for.

This is where I feel really special to live in the UK, we have free healthcare here and so both for Monkat and 0ddity it would of been free ( You may have to pay for drugs )

[quote name='Danny600kill' post='3193465' date='Oct 11 2010, 06:44 PM']This is where I feel really special to live in the UK, we have free healthcare here and so both for Monkat and 0ddity it would of been free ( You may have to pay for drugs )[/quote]

Yeah, if I had been living in Canada at the time it would have been covered, but I was in the States. OHIP is similar to the UK system, we're covered for neccessary things, have to pay for drugs and things like vision and dental.

[quote name='0ddity' post='3193483' date='Oct 12 2010, 01:49 AM'][quote name='Danny600kill' post='3193465' date='Oct 11 2010, 06:44 PM']This is where I feel really special to live in the UK, we have free healthcare here and so both for Monkat and 0ddity it would of been free ( You may have to pay for drugs )[/quote]

Yeah, if I had been living in Canada at the time it would have been covered, but I was in the States. OHIP is similar to the UK system, we're covered for neccessary things, have to pay for drugs and things like vision and dental.
[/quote]
paying for drugs? that's not good enough... But I imagine every citizen gets it ?

Ah, I love the NHS.

[quote name='Thoob' post='3194874' date='Oct 12 2010, 12:02 PM']Ah, I love the NHS.[/quote]

It's just a shame the current Government is going to kill it!

[quote name='SixtySixHundred' post='3194876' date='Oct 12 2010, 12:03 PM'][quote name='Thoob' post='3194874' date='Oct 12 2010, 12:02 PM']Ah, I love the NHS.[/quote]

It's just a shame the current Government is going to kill it!
[/quote]

Tributes have been paid to agony aunt Claire Rayner, who has died at the age of 79.

She told her relatives she wanted her last words to be: "Tell David Cameron that if he screws up my beloved NHS I'll come back and bloody haunt him."

Click to expand...

I love the NHS as well, I don't mind some of my taxes paying for universal coverage, it's more than worth it for the peace of mind (for example when I was a student and had health problems and could just walk into a doctors or A&E without worrying about what it would mean financially, and walk otu without so much as signing anything)

[quote name='BlueStar' post='3194880' date='Oct 12 2010, 12:07 PM'][quote name='SixtySixHundred' post='3194876' date='Oct 12 2010, 12:03 PM'][quote name='Thoob' post='3194874' date='Oct 12 2010, 12:02 PM']Ah, I love the NHS.[/quote]

It's just a shame the current Government is going to kill it!
[/quote]

Tributes have been paid to agony aunt Claire Rayner, who has died at the age of 79.

She told her relatives she wanted her last words to be: "Tell David Cameron that if he screws up my beloved NHS I'll come back and bloody haunt him."

Click to expand...

I love the NHS as well, I don't mind some of my taxes paying for universal coverage, it's more than worth it for the peace of mind (for example when I was a student and had health problems and could just walk into a doctors or A&E without worrying about what it would mean financially, and walk otu without so much as signing anything)
[/quote]

I worship the NHS. I would be dead without them as I had Cancer a few years ago. My treatment would've cost in excess of £12000 which, at the time, was beyond my financial capabilities. The NHS is one of the best things in the world and I owe them a lot.

R.I.P. Claire Rayner, what a wonderful thing to say as your last words. Davis Cameron should be sh*tting bricks!

Lol i know what you mean
I had to go to the hospital at like 10pm and was charged 200 for it plus for CT scans

turns out i had a throat infection and they gave me antibiotics

I'll throw in my support for the NHS as well. It has its problems, mostly due to greedy corrupt politicians and the slow Americanisation of our country, but I wouldn't swap it for the American system for any reason or amount of money. I was in hospital for a week last year and was unemployed at the time, if this was the States I would never have been able to afford it.

Another good example is when my nephew was bitten by the family dog when he was just a little kid. The dog bit through his cheek and took a sizable chunk out of it. He was rushed to hospital and a plastic surgeon specialising in children was helicoptered in from Liverpool. His cheek was reconstructed and he spent a week in hossy recovering. All free of charge.

If paying a little bit of tax ensures that other members of my country can get medical treatment any time they need it without worry then I'll dig my hands in my pocket as deep as they need to go. The only thing I think needs changing is that only citizens and immigrants/migrant workers who have paid a certain level of contributions towards it should get the benefits of it.

Hmm another reason being Canadian will usually trump any advantage in the US (or plenty of other places).

I don't pay squat for a visit to the hospital. If I need the ambulance, it's just filling in paperwork, not my problem.

Prescriptions, I don't pay for prescriptions.

I'm technically 'poor'. I likely live better than the middle class in the US.

I'm insured for everything, so I don't pay for my medicines or when I get to hospital, everything is covered for me. Sometimes living in the Netherlands isn't so bad you know

It's sad that in modern times, medicine (the general science of medicine, not the prescription drugs, just to make it clear) isn't about saving people's lives anymore. Now it's all just one big business, where the clients (aka patients) get milked for as much money as possible.

True story:

The last time I was hospitalized (dislocated my left patella) I had to go to 2 hospitals (the first one waved me off coz I might "develop complications" due to pre-existing medical maladies other than my injury). And then my doctor has me wait from midnight to 4 am before he sets the bone back in place. End result, by the time he got back to me, my kneecap had resumed it's former place (got lucky there, I guess). And we paid for the whole ordeal when the doctor basically just wrapped the cast around my knee without even touching it.

I know right?

I have to pay over $1000 in prescription drugs every month. Can't wait for a certain generic to come out at wal-mart. Not to mention my Psychiatrist, surgeries, and other Doctor related visits and such.