11 Aug 2018 Why Does It Cost So Much?

Why Does It Cost So Much?

A couple of weeks ago I had surgery to correct a minor heart issue.  I walked into the hospital at 5:30am.  I went into pre-op at 6:00am.  At 7:45 I was taken to the operating room.  At 8:45 I went to the recovery room.  Before leaving the operating room, I was wide awake, no grogginess at all.  I was in no pain.  I waited 45 minutes in the recovery room for the anesthesia doctor to come is to say I was good to go up to a room.  He was there all of a minute.  I wanted to go home but my doctor who performed the procedure is very conservative and had me stay until the next morning.  So, I got to my room and waited until the next morning to go home. A nurse would come by each hour to see how was doing.   Someone else would come by every 4 hours to take my blood pressure and temperature. That was the extent of my care. At 6:15am the next morning my surgeon came by and said I could go home.  He was in the room about 2 minutes.  It took three and half hours to get processed out.  

So, I was in the hospital less than 29 hours and only 3 hours in specialized care. The bill the hospital sent my insurance company was for $171,000.  Now, that does not include the cost of the surgeon or the anesthesiologist.  Those are separate charges.  This was purely for the use of the hospital facilities.  I have say that the quality of the care was great.  All the people were friendly and professional.

Now, I know my insurance company will not pay that full amount.  To be sure it will still be an outrageous amount.  It is a game the hospital plays.  They bill a lot and the insurance company then pays part of it.  The hospital then deducts the difference as a “loss” for tax purposes.  

I will ask for a detailed bill, so I can see just how the hospital charges. There is no justification for charging that amount.  It shows just what is wrong with our health care system.