| It was a cold, clammy, rainy pitch dark night and I was | | | | I thanked once and again the counselor, but was |
| extremely distressed-- well, not really it was a beautiful | | | | informed I would also receive individual bill from the |
| hot although rainy night in Florida but I was distressed. | | | | radiologist, emergency physician and laboratory for |
| My wife was in pain and it had been two days that | | | | about $1500 more and that if deemed necessary, I |
| the flashing pain on the upper left side of her face had | | | | could ask for a discount and maybe even a charitable |
| started and thankfully was tolerable with over the | | | | waiver. |
| counter medication. | | | | The bills started rolling in as follows: |
| But I was at the edge of desperation and so was she, | | | | Hospital services ER total bill: 3560.68 |
| particularly because as a former medical doctor I had | | | | Itemized as follows: |
| an almost 100% certainty that it was trigeminal | | | | Brain CAT scan: $1802 (with health insurance: $285) |
| neuralgia. | | | | LAB: $322 (with health insurance: $152) |
| Still my doubts abounded. What if it was a tumor or a | | | | MEDS: 1.68 (1 Carbamazepine tablet costs $0.12 even |
| vascular compression etc., etc. --- I would never | | | | without health insurance) |
| forgive myself. | | | | LEVEL 4 EMERGENCY: $1435 (with health insurance: |
| So reluctantly we go to the dreaded "emergency | | | | $2,363 Price is for an Emergency Department Visit. No |
| room" and go through the routine questions, do you | | | | overnight stay Includes imaging studies like x-ray, CT or |
| have insurance? The answer was a definitive "no ", "I | | | | MRI.) |
| can't afford insurance". Are you in pain and if so tell me | | | | Billed separately about two weeks after: |
| in a scale of 1 to 10 how much? My wife was in pain, | | | | Emergency physician: $784 (with health insurance: |
| but just in case we wouldn't be ignored she answered | | | | $211). |
| a loud "ten". | | | | That's about $3136 an hour considering the ER doctor |
| Then, the long waiting period, which really was quite | | | | took around 15 minutes to question and examines my |
| reasonable-- about an hour and her name was called | | | | wife. Even Bill Gates would raise his eyebrow with this |
| out by a nice lady who showed us the way to a | | | | hourly income. |
| private cubicle perfectly outfitted for a medical | | | | Radiology diagnosis: $210.14 (with health insurance: I |
| consultation. A couple of more minutes and blood was | | | | really don't know) |
| drawn, an I,V catheter inserted just in case. | | | | Laboratory diagnosis: Up to the present date I have |
| Tension was building up and the emergency physician | | | | not received it. |
| enters and greeted us with a foreign accent, he was | | | | All the numbers are to illustrate the ridiculous gap of |
| nice and cordial and asked how he could help and so | | | | prices between without insurance (retail) and with |
| on. I explained that I was a former MD and that I had | | | | insurance (wholesale). But were talking about human |
| an idea of what was happening. Let's hear it he said | | | | beings, not DVD players, aren't we? |
| and I confidently said "trigeminal neuralgia", he nodded | | | | I recently came by the million dollar question: why do |
| as if agreeing. | | | | hospitals charge such outrageous fees to the |
| "You need a CAT SCAN and some medication; he | | | | uninsured? The answer is very simple "because they |
| said'' and left the room. Even if time is altered in this | | | | can" and why can they? Because health insurance |
| setting, I'm positive that the doctor visit including | | | | companies negotiate rock bottom prices before the |
| questioning and a quick physical took at most a | | | | fact-you won't be doing that bleeding in the ER. |
| quarter of an hour. Then to the CAT SCAN, another | | | | But aren't the uninsured supposed to pay less because |
| 10 minutes and it was over. Last but not least we | | | | they can't afford to pay for health insurance? This |
| were escorted to the observation room, full of ailing | | | | statement makes sense, but in reality these poor |
| patients. | | | | wretched souls pay triple or more of the normal price |
| After waiting about 45 minutes a kind lady from the | | | | tag for a given exam or service. |
| financial department inquired about my income, | | | | The way I see it, it's another "catch 22" applied to big |
| dependents etc. Everything so far, so good, except | | | | and I really mean big business in which some |
| that she bluntly informed us that the bill was $3560 and | | | | companies paid its CEO $102 million in compensations |
| that we had some options in order to get a discount. | | | | in a given year. |
| At this point, immediately I also had a headache and | | | | How's this sound for a fact: |
| asked to speak with someone to clarify my financials | | | | "Approximately 41.2 million Americans who don't have |
| and explain that I didn't have that kind of money. We | | | | health insurance have to pay astronomically high |
| were taken to a financial counselor at about midnight | | | | healthcare bills out of their own pockets" and "for the |
| and after haggling "I really mean begging" I had to sign | | | | years 2003 and 2004, just over 50 percent of all |
| an agreement to pay about $300 a month for a year. I | | | | personal bankruptcies were the result of medical debt |
| just couldn't take it anymore and signed, got the | | | | by those with health insurance ". |
| papers and left. | | | | Just to round it up and stir some controversy, I |
| The story has a nice ending because after about two | | | | remember Michael Moors movie "Sicko" in which an |
| weeks and a lot of phone calls we returned to the | | | | American patient lost two fingers in an accident and |
| hospital to continue 'begging" and a miracle happened. | | | | had to "choose" which to have re-implanted according |
| Under charitable grounds our $3500 bill was dropped | | | | to the humongous fees which ran into tens of |
| to zero. | | | | thousands of dollars. "Ring or middle finger"? |