craziest charge for health/medical treatment you've had

My ex-wife had surgery for removing her appendix. We didn't have health insurance at the time (about 8 years ago) and the bill was like 20K or something.

 

Yeah, people asking graduate educated professionals paying back a quarter-million in student loans to fix a non-infectious discomfort with professionally sterilized $1,000 equipment had nothing to do with it.

 

Um what? All they really needed was probably like 10 ccs of local along with a disposable sterile scalpel/stitch - maybe an island dressing afterwards. They didn't use a bovie to cut out a splinter. Hell if they couldn't find the splinter they could have used an ultrasound to locate it (sterile cover/chloraprep/gel/wipe to clean the probe afterwards) - that doesn't account for a 333.60 deductible.

This is why you don't go to urgent care clinics. You also probably want to get an explanation of benefits from your insurance company. Was the MD in network? What were you charged for specifically etc.

Please don't bring up the debt many residents incur due to medical school. Yeah, interest builds up but you're being dishonest if you're trying to insinuate that they'll have problems paying that back moving forward (provided they match into a field that brings in $$).

 

You emed docs are all the same

 

Spent 3 days in hospital with infected intestine. No surgery, 1 scope .... Cost? $85,000 in Chicago.... Insurance covered 80%.... Received bill for $17,000....

Went into hospital administrator's office and told them to **** themselves.

Received letter "waiving" the $17,000 amount.

 

Please explain further. How does that work?

 

Shoulda gone to the vet. Cue pic of confused Tommy Callahan

 

Believe it or not, that usually doesn't work. I guess I've been lucky. Back in the day, when I didn't have insurance, nothing bad happened. When I got very ill and/or had to go to the hospital, I had insurance. I have friends and relatives that weren't that lucky, though. It's always good for a laugh when someone posts here about how rediculous health insurance is (not saying you did that, Nook), and how they don't need it because "I've never been sick a day in my life!" It is pure luck. Best not to depend on luck and have some freakin' health insurance. Millions will be helped by Obamacare, which is a good start, but a lot of Americans will still struggle paying medical bills. In a lot of ways, with all due respect to those here who work in the healthcare industry and the attendant insurance industry, it's a gigantic racket.

 

A couple months after I finished my radiation treatment, I got a letter from the insurance company stating that they had deemed the radiation treatment "experimental and/or unnecessary" and would not be covering it. That amounted to seventeen treatments at between $1500-$1700 (at insurance rates) each. I figured it was complete BS and that the same letter was sent to Methodist so I didn't respond to it. The good docs at the Med Center took care of everything.

That's the thing with insurance companies. They deny everything and hope you give up or are not savvy enough to challenge them. If you refuse to accept their answers, you normally get everything you need. The insurance POS originally told me that would pay for 15 zophran per month, or a five day supply according to my prescription that said I needed to take it for six weeks. These are (or were) expensive pills at about $14 each. The pharmacy tried to charge me hundreds of dollars, which I refused and made them make calls (while my docs also made calls) back to the insurance company. I eventually got my way and paid $0.

Don't take 'no' for an answer!

And to the OP...why not just drive to the pharmacy to get the stuff you would need to extricate the splinter yourself? Was it that bad?

 

Good thing you went to urgent care for that one, OP. You could have died of a splinter!

 

My parents were charged $500 for the PHONE CALL to request a hospital transfer flight from Corpus to Houston when I nearly ruptured my spleen in 1st grade.

 

You people who live in the US are in serious trouble. Insured or not, AFA or not, this is going to get a lot worse before it gets better.

 

Blasphemy! Obamacare is here to save us and lower the cost of healthcare. True story!

 

If you don't want to pay what you feel are exorbitant medical fees don't get sick. Or just check WebMD for all your health concerns.

 

You went to Urgent Care for a splinter and you're complaining about the cost?

 

They should have charged you more for wasting the time for a splinter.

 

wtf.. glad i'm in the Philippines, charged me around $850 6 years ago

 

My wife just had an emergency (is there another kind?) appendectomy.

Between the local emergency center, the ambulance, and Memorial Hermann, I can't wait to see what I have to pay after my Blue Cross Blue Shield gets ahold of everything.

Thank God she's okay, but when I get the bill, I'll be the one in the hospital.

On the good side: they took good care of her. On the other side: medical costs in this country have long surpassed anal-rape stages.

 

$850 USD or $850 PP?