Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Wow! Hernia surgery cost $7,024.
I think the cost of health/medical care in the USA is outlandish. Over-priced. Of course, what do I know? Maybe not enough. I went in for hernia surgery in March. In and out of the hospital in 3 hours. The actual surgery took about an hour. Turns out the bill was $7,024. Fortunately, all but $17 was covered by Medicare and my private supplemental insurance. But imagine if I were one of the 50 million uninsured Americans. That kind of bill would set me back apiece. I'm gonna ask for an itemized bill. So I can study it. I suppose I won't raise a fuss. Because I have insurance. But I'd like my insurers to do something about the USA having the highest cost of medical care in the world. Yet we're not the healthiest nation. Many countries that spend far less than us have better results. Several years ago my Jeanne fell and broke a wrist in Germany. The hospital and doctor's bill for piecing together the fracture (with three pins) was about $500. When Jeanne had those pins removed in the USA, the bill was several thousand dollars. Fortunately, the insurance covered it all. But if it hadn't, we'd have been better off returning to Germany for care. We'd have saved money, even with having to buy round-trip plane tickets. --Jim Broede
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Hey Jim, don't worry about those uninsured. They either choose to not have insurance, and pay the bill themselves, or WE foot the bill.
Is the $7K the approved amount, or the amount billed?
I'm still researching this whole thing. I'll let you known what I discover over the next several days. The copy of the $7,024 bill I have is stamped 'Hospital Bill.' And it says 'You will be billed separately for professional services.' My gawd! Does that mean there's more to come? Anyway, the Medicare payment was $6,515 and some odd cents. The Blue Cross payment was $491 and some odd cents. The more I ponder this, the more I mumble 'Incredible. Incredible. Incredible.' --Jim
If I have services from the hospital, there is a facility charge and also the professional/physician charges. The professional/physician charges are usually the technician's fees, and in-hospital doctor fees.
The amount shown on my hospital bill is usually the regular hospital charge, then they make an adjustment because the insurance co only allows so much, for each service/procedure(which is always less than the charge). They then show a deduction for the ins. co. payment. The balance is what I owe.
I am also charged separately for the physician and/or anesthesiologist.
I never pay my bills, until I get an Explanation of Benefits(EOB) from the ins co. and medicare. Do get the itemized bill. I have been charged for a private room, when I had been in the ER.
I remember another time. In Arizona. Jeanne fell. Broke the suborbital bone beneath an eye. She went to the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix. Had it surgically repaired. Stayed overnight in the hospital. The bill was $13,000. Covered by insurance. Just think if we had been uninsured. Meanwhile, I wonder what the same procedure would have cost in Germany or Italy or England. I'll bet a lot less than $13,000. Do I think the health care system in the USA is a rip-off? Yes. --Jim
Last year I had dental work. On one tooth. Two dentists did the work. One did a root canal. The other put a crown on the tooth. The bill from the dentists was a little over $1,000 each. Yes, I paid over $2,000 for the dental work. I spent a total 2 hours in the dentists' chairs. In a way, one can look at those dentists getting paid $1,000 an hour. Not bad. By the way, I don't have dental insurance. --Jim
Could be that most of our medical professionals are debt driven, considering the costs of education and continuing education. You can bet that the doctors you saw in Europe had nowhere near the education of the doctor that performed your hernia operation.
We also pay for new and improved medications, medical devices, technology, etc. Europe is slowly changing to a less government-provided system, creating and raising deductibles, and lowering reimbursement amounts. The European economy cannot continue to bear the costs, even with high taxation.
Our government should be focusing on providing care to those who are poorest, and sickest. This new "system" will become unsustainable, and our younger generation will suffer greatly, not to mention OUR choices of medications and services.
I think the European doctors are just as good as our doctors, Maebee. Maybe better. In the sense that they are willing to work for less. Could be that makes them more dedicated to their professions. They aren't in it to get monetarily rich. Many doctors in France settle for annual salaries of $40,000. Can you imagine an American doctor being satisfied with that? And there's more government subsidy of education in Europe. So it doesn't cost as much to get a medical degree. Anyway, I'm for making everything more affordable for the general population. And that often can be achieved by having government-sponsored or subsidized basic services. Such as medical care. -Jim
So, cheaper is better? THAT makes a better doctor? I don't know about you, but I don't go to the least expensive doctor around here.
Also, the European doctors have little choice, working for the government. You hit the nail on the head when you state that Europeans don't pay for much of their schooling. American doctors begin practice with 8-12 years of no income under their belts, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. Maybe that is where the problem lies.
$40,000 is laughable. The average French doctor makes well over $100,000 per year. They work half the hours of our doctors, have extremely small malpractice costs, and other practice costs. You have to put the figures in cultural context, or they are totally flawed.
Your $40,000 doctor would have to be supplementing his income in some other way. Not possible.
There's something nice to be said about doctors who aren't in practice primarily to make lots and lots of money. They just love being doctors in order to help sick people. I often ask, What is motivating this human being? --Jim
And yes, it's possible to live on $40,000 a year. Lots of people do. And some of 'em may even be happier than some millionaires. --Jim
There are some countries in which education is a right. Fancy that. Health care, too. Fantastic, isn't it? Yes, genuinely civilized countries. Imagine that. A right to an education and health care. Even if you are monetarily poor. It's still possible to be rich in meaningful ways. --Jim
I wouldn't necessarily go to the most expensive doctor to get the best treatment. I'd much prefer a doctor who truly knows me. And truly cares about me. --Jim
Actually, my primary care doctor is a woman. With a clinic 43 miles away. I go out of my way to go to her. Because I have confidence in her. --Jim
I think I'd have confidence in a doctor in France willing to live on $40,000 a year. I'd consider him/her a unique individual. A unique doctor. Yes, a doctor who has his/her priorities straight. --Jim
I have had good and bad doctors, cheap and expensive doctors. It is all relative.
Our American doctors HAVE to make a wad of money. Malpractice insurance, alone, starts at $55,000 per year. French doctors have a tiny fraction of the expenses of American doctors.
Maybe we have to recruit more doctors that don't commit malpractice. And give the French doctors credit for having a tiny fraction of the expenses of American doctors. And just think, the French get better results. For their patients. For far less than what we spend. Vive le Francais. --Jim
I just came across this post while doing a search of medical costs. I'm currently a full-time graduate student with insurance through my school. Despite the fact that I "have" insurance it still cost me more than $3,000 out of pocket for an MRI of a lump on my leg last summer. I had it surgically removed in January and after the initial bill for surgery, anesthetist, and lab charges owed $637 out of pocket (after my insurance covered $1,600). Today I noticed that claims of $6,000 and $181 were just made to my insurance company - for what I don't know. I just requested an itemized bill, it will be interesting to see what I'm being charged for now. One thing I've learned is that not all insurance is created equal.
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