There has been much discussion this year about health care and the associated costs.
Before I get started let me say that I have nothing but the highest praise and respect for the health professionals that cared for me during my hospital stay.
Above is a copy of the bill I received from the hospital last week.
I’d like to talk about it a little bit.
First, notice there is no detail. I have called the billing office and requested details which they say they will mail to me.
Next, $2436 for 3 days. That’s $812 per day. Now I suppose when you factor in 24 hour care from the staff that’s not too outrageous but it is a lot of money.
The prosthetic device is a curved socket attached to my hip and a pin with a ball on the top inserted into my femur. It is made of stainless steel and is no doubt a finely machined object but $28,000?!?!?
The one that really made me laugh is $1701.43 for prescription drugs (how’d they come up with the 43 cents?).
These same drugs taken at home for 3 days cost me less than $1.00. It might be closer to $2.00 if insurance didn’t pick up a little of the costs. I forgot, I was on an intravenous saline drip and had antibiotics the first day.
I bet the hospital gets the drugs at wholesale prices as well. What do you think?
Some of the other stuff on there I just don’t know what it is.
Pulmonary Services? I had a little plastic device that I used myself to make sure fluids weren’t in my lungs.
Non-prescription drugs for $34.95? I don’t know, maybe they gave me some aspirin.
I’m not mad at the hospital and not accusing anyone of dishonesty or trying to rip me off but how in the world did these costs get to be so high?
It’s no wonder the US has the highest health care costs of in industrialized nation but with little or no difference in death or recovery rates.
Now imagine what will happen to all of this when the government who famously pays hundreds of dollars for hammers and toilet seats gets more deeply involved than they already are.
I’m not smart enough to say exactly how this can be fixed.
The system we have now is out of control in dozens of different ways.
We are so fearful of a government bureaucrat telling us how to manage our health but have no problem with some insurance company clerk doing the same thing.
The insurance company picked up most of the cost above but not all.
I have been informed that I may require further surgery but I don’t think I can afford it.
What in the world do the working poor do?
There’s not much point to all of this except to just give my friends something to think about.
