Have you ever seen an itemized invoice for your hospital stay, or

[Hubert Flottz]

for your visit to your local ER?

I saw one of mine about thirty years ago when I demanded an itemized bill after a hospital stay of eight days and back then they were charging me $1.00 for a cotton ball, $4.00 for a Tylenol, $20.00 for KY Jelly, and $30.00 for a foam rubber donut pillow.

Factoring in the rate of inflation thirty years later I'll bet medicare is paying about $10.00 a cotton ball by now. No wonder they are in trouble. But instead of regulating the prices the health care providers have been charging, the GOPers in congress have done nothing but deregulate. Therefore I lay the blame for any failure of Medicare, on the GOP's doorstep where it belongs.

Do the doctors, the hospitals and the drug companies EVER share any of our "Sacrifice" even though the schools where the doctors learn their trade are funded in large part, by You the taxpayer?

[shraby]

1. I did one time for an er visit by my husband. They charged

us for oxygen but he never had it. Made them remove the charge.

[Dappleganger]

2. My husband used to count IV bags...

they're not supposed to charge for anything which is unopened but they will if they can get away with it. We've had numerous charges dropped which we contested before.

[cbayer]

3. I am not defending for profit hospital corporations here, but community hospitals

and others run on taxpayer funds are losing money across the country.

The itemized bills do look ridiculous, but what you don't see is all the other things that the hospital must pay for. Housekeeping, nursing, medical records, dietary, security, keeping up with government regulations, etc, all must be paid for but can't be directly billed. These hospitals also provide boatloads of indigent care.

The inflated prices on the itemized bills are a way that public hospitals try to get what they can from insurance companies.

The whole system is really messed up.

[Hubert Flottz]

8. "The whole system is really messed up."

But why should sick people be the ones who pay for the greed of others? What would be wrong with regulating the provider's ability to just charge the public these outrageous prices, for things that in reality cost very little? Same goes for the drug companies. Is it because the AMA members and hospitals can contribute large sums to political campaigns, like the drug companies do and then expect to have the politicians who have taken those contributions, bend to their benefactor's will, without fail?

By the big money and for big the money, is a far cry from by the people and for the people.

[cbayer]

10. I don't disagree with what you are saying here, I just wanted to offer some

explanation as to why itemized bills look so outrageous.

There are multiple players in this game all grabbing for the dollars. Some of them (for profit hospital corps, insurance companies and drug manufacturers) definitely play the game better than others.

The community and public hospitals, on the other hand, have to play by different rules and many (if not most) are really struggling to stay afloat. Single payer is the only solution to this, imo. In the interim, the way those on the bottom rungs (as providers of health care) do whatever they can to stay open.

[Hubert Flottz]

13. I understand what you are saying

I have several friends who work at the local hospitals. Like everyone else who works for a living their rewards are fewer all the time and the amount of hours they work are brutal. Around here the hospital is a good place to stay away from if you aren't sick already. Folks around here, myself included, come out with more bugs than you went in there with. Due to cutting corners and laying people off. One of my relatives just had to be moved to another room a couple of weeks ago because ants invaded her 5th floor room. Who knows what those things crawled through to get to her room. MRSA and scabies are just some of the things people have been bringing home from the hospitals in this area. And I'm talking about the better class hospitals here in town.

[ehrnst]

4. Yes, when I was uninsured and landed in the hospital.

I was charged similar prices. I was told it was because they have to charge huge amounts to make up for people that don't pay their bills.

The thing is, they turned my account over to a bill collector immediately, and would not talk to me about a payment plan.

So... they likely got what an insurance company would have paid them anyway.

????

[Hubert Flottz]

5. If you think you're sick when you go in the hospital...

just wait till you get the bill!

[alc]

6. I saw one

Insurance paid $4000 for my wife's stay. From the itemized bill we calculated that we got $600 of the items. My wife called the insurance company to say they were ripped off. The insurance company said that $4000 was their negotiated rate for her stay. If we didn't use something they still paid. If she had had an allergic reaction to anesthesia and needed extra attention not on the itemized bill they would not have had to pay for it.

Before laying all of the blame on the GOP, what did the Democrats do with both houses of congress and the president? They passed health INSURANCE reform. Hospitals will make up for that by charging the rest of us more.

[Bandit]

7. Since we have no Health Insurance we most definitely receive itemized billing.

$15. for a single Tylenol tablet..$600. for a small leg cast that took fifteen minutes to put on (by a nurse)

[Hubert Flottz]

9. I thought those places were suppose to make you feel better...

not bitter.

[sinkingfeeling]

11. Yes, you can always ask for a copy. I needed mine for insurance (supplemental type).

[Philippine expat]

12. My wife just had a total knee replacement

the hospital billed $45,000 the insurance company has
a negotiated price of $10,000, I'm waiting for my itemized
bill.
Remember even if you have insurance the hospital must give you an itemized
bill if requested

[Hubert Flottz]

14. And you should ALWAYS ask.

I do and it always makes me sick!

[Liberal_in_LA]

15. just had a short hospital stay. They didn't do the detail itemization

Big broad categories: Blood work - $2000 !!! Drugs $500.

[nadinbrzezinski]

16. Yep, and 10 bucks for an IV catheter is ridiculous.