Monday, July 21, 2014

Medical Robbery

Well, the bill from the hospital finally showed up. So off goes a letter to them:

The bill in reference pertains to services provided to my son for dehydration on April 10. The entire bill amounts to $3,051 but excludes physician’s and pathologist’s services which were billed separately.

Considering the simple services provided, this billing is unreasonable and even scandalous! How can administering two bags of saline solution cost over $3,000? On what basis are your billed charges determined? I have priced the total bill to Medicare, and that sum is only $371.77 plus a co-pay of $74.35 for a total of $446.12. How do you justify charging me 684% of the Medicare rate?


I am prepared to pay for the services my son received, but I also expect to be billed a reasonable and fair amount. I don’t think six to seven times what a Medicare patient would pay is either reasonable or fair, nor would most citizens of this country. I respectfully request that you reconsider this amount.

Our previous discussions have brought up costs for hospitals and prescription drugs. But are doctors in the United States also overpaid? That's the discussion for the next installment.


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