The Medical Industry is soooooo Broken

[bigredfish]

So I'm just getting over my first (and hopefully last) bout with Shingles.

Anyone who has had them can attest that the pain is a doozy. I had no idea what it was at first, so for 5 days ate Advil and got very little sleep. From my navel to the middle of my back on the left side it was a combination of fire and someone pounding me with jabs to the gut.- NO OTHER SYMPTOMS

Finally on day 5 (Feb 14th) after talking to my Primary via phone, I went to the ER to get pictures of some type as there was no outward signs (no rash) and it wasnt getting any better. I was flippin miserable.

So got smart and went to ER at 8am and there was no wait, right into a room.

Doc examines me, says he'd suggest Shingles but because no rash on day 6 it couldnt be that.
Takes blood, Urine sample, CT scan
I lay around for another 4 hours waiting and he finally comes back and says "I cant find anything". No diagnosis, take Advil and Tylenol and maybe it will go away. And he sends me on my way. I shit you not.

So the next day the rash shows up. I do a televisit with my Primary again, he looks at me via Facetime and sees rash and says "Oh, thats definately Shingles". Prescribes a $30 anti-viral and says it will probably go away in another week or two.

So here we are March 1 and its all but gone, still a nagging pain in my left side like a pulled muscle, but not too bad and Im sleeping again.

Then I get the hospital bill.....

• 4 hours in ER
• Blood and urine tests
• CT scan
• No answer/diagnosis

 

[gwminor48]

So I'm just getting over my first (and hopefully last) bout with Shingles.

Anyone who has had them can attest that the pain is a doozy. I had no idea what it was at first, so for 5 days ate Advil and got very little sleep. From my navel to the middle of my back on the left side it was a combination of fire and someone pounding me with jabs to the gut.

Finally on day 5 (Feb 14th) after talking to my Primary via phone, I went to the ER to get pictures of some type as there was no outward signs (no rash) and it wasnt getting any better. I was flippin miserable.

So got smart and went to ER at 8am and there was no wait, right into a room.

Doc examines me, says he'd suggest Shingles but because no rash on day 6 it couldnt be that.
Takes blood, Urine sample, CT scan
I lay around for another 4 hours waiting and he finally comes back and says "I cant find anything". No diagnosis, take Advil and Tylenol and maybe it will go away. And he sends me on my way. I shit you not.

So the next day the rash shows up. I do a televisit with my Primary again, he looks at me via Facetime and sees rash and says "Oh, thats definately Shingles. Prescribes a $30 anti-viral and says it will probably go away in another week or two.

So here we are March 1 and its all but gone, still a nagging pain in my left side like a pulled muscle, but not too bad and Im sleeping again.

Then I get the hospital bill.....

• 4 hours in ER
• Blood and urine tests
• CT scan
• No answer/diagnosis

View attachment 155633

OMG!

 

[fenderman]

So I'm just getting over my first (and hopefully last) bout with Shingles.

Anyone who has had them can attest that the pain is a doozy. I had no idea what it was at first, so for 5 days ate Advil and got very little sleep. From my navel to the middle of my back on the left side it was a combination of fire and someone pounding me with jabs to the gut.

Finally on day 5 (Feb 14th) after talking to my Primary via phone, I went to the ER to get pictures of some type as there was no outward signs (no rash) and it wasnt getting any better. I was flippin miserable.

So got smart and went to ER at 8am and there was no wait, right into a room.

Doc examines me, says he'd suggest Shingles but because no rash on day 6 it couldnt be that.
Takes blood, Urine sample, CT scan
I lay around for another 4 hours waiting and he finally comes back and says "I cant find anything". No diagnosis, take Advil and Tylenol and maybe it will go away. And he sends me on my way. I shit you not.

So the next day the rash shows up. I do a televisit with my Primary again, he looks at me via Facetime and sees rash and says "Oh, thats definately Shingles. Prescribes a $30 anti-viral and says it will probably go away in another week or two.

So here we are March 1 and its all but gone, still a nagging pain in my left side like a pulled muscle, but not too bad and Im sleeping again.

Then I get the hospital bill.....

• 4 hours in ER
• Blood and urine tests
• CT scan
• No answer/diagnosis

View attachment 155633

Call them. Lie to them and say you are broke and cant pay. They will reduce it to 1k...

 

[bigredfish]

Yeah now that you mention it, Im feeling very poor this week....

 

[Rob2020]

Dang, get well soon, better hope you don't get Postherpetic neuralgia.

 

[bigredfish]

Yeah Im hopeful that wont be the case. Tomorrow will be 3 weeks and most info Ive found says SHingles last 2-6 weeks. Id say its 80%+ gone and I havent had to eat Advil now for 4 days.

 

[Sybertiger]

Damn....just, DAMN!

 

[bigredfish]

Brought to you by the same folks who got a $20K bonus from Uncle Sam for a positive Covid test patient, even more for Remdisivir and a Vent, and as much as $100K extra per patient they treated who died "from with Covid". I have an ex wife "in the business" and she verified they got a windfall from government Covid bonuses.

Sorry folks but our Medical industry and healthcare providers are mostly compromised crooks at this point.

 

[looktall]

I went to hospital some years ago.
I was in the emergency department for most of the day.
I was put in the ward overnight and was then transported by ambulance (non urgent patient transport) to the emergency department of another hospital where i underwent a medical procedure while under sedation.
I was then sitting in the emergency department for about another 1-2 hours to recover before going home.

I assume all of that would have cost a small fortune, but I actually have no idea how much all of that cost because it was entirely covered by Australia's excellent universal healthcare system.

I have actually experienced the above several times (but only once with the patient transport to another hospital) and have never paid a cent out of pocket.

 

[bigredfish]

In another 10 months I would hope to see the same, very little if any out of pocket. Plan is to go on Traditional medicare plan and a UH supplemental policy.

Mom in the years before she passed had a lot of very expensive visits and paid exactly 0$ out of pocket with Trad Medcare and a $200 p/mo Part B supplemental policy

 

[Sybertiger]

Brought to you by the same folks who got a $20K bonus from Uncle Sam for a positive Covid test patient, even more for Remdisivir and a Vent, and as much as $100K extra per patient they treated who died "from with Covid". I have an ex wife "in the business" and she verified they got a windfall from government Covid bonuses.

Sorry folks but our Medical industry and healthcare providers are mostly compromised crooks at this point.

Many of you may not be aware but the gubermint will pay up to $9,000 for you to die of Covid-19. That's right, it you die of Covid-19 and your death certificate shows Covid-19 as the cause of death then the gubermint will reimburse up to $9,000 to your loved ones who are responsible for paying for your funeral. $2Billion paid out already.

p.s. It's not just the medical industry that's broken....the entire effing Republic is broken. But, don't get me started.

 

[biggen]

Yup it’s a joke. I was in the ER around Thanksgiving for some dizziness. Ran a bunch of tests and after 2 hours said I was potassium deficient. Gave me a pill and sent me home. Month later I got a bill that was $4500 before insurance coverage. Two hours of ER bed time (half of which I was asleep alone in a room) and a potassium pill for $4500!?!

Short of The Manhattan Project, you will never convince me that any service performed for another person should ever cost $2k+ per hour. I mean, it’s ludicrous to think they can even bill that with a straight face. Your bill was even worse! Four hours at $18k is almost $5k an hour with no diagnosis.

Glad you are doing better man!

 

[rolibr24]

My wife was a ER nurse for several years.

The reason our book is so high is because we are essentially paying for all the homeless, illegals and everyone else who shows up without insurance.

Winter was busy for them. They'd get homeless people in who were drunk and "suicidal". Because they were suicidal they needed a psychic eval, but because they were drunk they needed to sober up.
So they get a meal, warm place to sleep at night and a TV. Come morning they'll be sober, go through their eval and be deemed fine and out the door they go. Just to be back around 10-12 the next night.

Or the lady who called a ambulance to get taken into the ER because her period was lasting a day longer than it should.......



The stories she has. When she started in the ER she was ways optimistic and always looking at the good in people. After several years in the ER, and especially in it during 2020, she had absolutely zero hope for society and the human race

 

[bigredfish]

Could be thats part of it, but here in Central FLorida we dont really have that big of a problem with homeless or illegals. Advent Health (formerly Florida Hospital) is the big dog here and they have in the past been excellent. Went through a lot with my Dad 12 years ago and couldnt say enough good about them. Now that theyre expanding and gobbling up all the independent doc practices, its quite obvious profit is #1 and patient care is #2.

 

[wittaj]

Everyone in the medical field is in cahoots with each other.

They all charge more knowing that insurance will cover their actual amount of service and still make profit.

Some don't even hide it and if you go in and tell them you don't have insurance and are covering it out of pocket, they will bill you a lot less than they would insurance.

But then they prepare a bill like they did to you saying what you are responsible for.

A friend of mine that works in the industry told me this, so I don't have anything to link and the numbers may be off some, but I suspect they are close:

Statistics show that 15% will call and complain and negotiate it down. Anything they get from you is profit.

15% will just pay it as they don't like conflict and just assume that it is legit. Anything they get from them is profit.

The rest will be sold to a 3rd party collector that buys the "outstanding" delinquent invoices for a couple of % of the value. So if they buy it for 2% of the total value, anything they collect over 2% is profit. They are usually able to recover 30-40% of the total.

 

[JDreaming]

Damn.... the bill is enough to buy 9 newest SD8c845FG-HNF PTZ. Glad you doing better now.

 

[fenderman]

I went to hospital some years ago.
I was in the emergency department for most of the day.
I was put in the ward overnight and was then transported by ambulance (non urgent patient transport) to the emergency department of another hospital where i underwent a medical procedure while under sedation.
I was then sitting in the emergency department for about another 1-2 hours to recover before going home.

I assume all of that would have cost a small fortune, but I actually have no idea how much all of that cost because it was entirely covered by Australia's excellent universal healthcare system.

I have actually experienced the above several times (but only once with the patient transport to another hospital) and have never paid a cent out of pocket.

Well you did pay out of pocket - a significant sum. You simply prepaid via high taxes. Probably well more than the OP's 5k out of pocket which he will get reduced. More importantly, Australia's "universal" health care suffers from the same pitfalls as Canada and the UK. Insane wait times to see a specialist, get an MRI or other expensive diagnostic tests. And that is if the system deems you worth of specific treatment....some older folks are expendable to save cast.
Also keep in mind that the OP has a large deductible and coinsurance to save on the premiums. He likely saved more than the full bill over the years. He is still way ahead of paying for others who prioritize iphone 25's over health care.

 

[tigerwillow1]

I had shingles a bit over 40 years ago, the head and face version. To say it was nasty is an understatement. I went only to my GP, and don't remember if he diagnosed it immediately or watched it for a while. The only treatment he prescribed was topical DMSO, which was fairly new at the time. I'm speechless about your bill, which you can chalk up to the obamacare "affordable" care act.

 

[looktall]

You simply prepaid via high taxes.

My taxes pay for the same things your taxes pay for.
Fire, police, military, education, transport, various infrastructure etc.

They just also happen to pay for medical, which yours don't for whatever reason.

Could you imagine if your house caught fire and the fire department sent you a bill for putting it out?

 

[fenderman]

My taxes pay for the same things your taxes pay for.
Fire, police, military, education, transport, various infrastructure etc.

They just also happen to pay for medical, which yours don't for whatever reason.

Could you imagine if your house caught fire and the fire department sent you a bill for putting it out?

Correct but to fund universal health care you need to both increase taxes, cut services and skimp on RandD. As such, as an individual, OP is likely WAY better off paying 5k every once in a while along with his insurance premium rather than have his tax rate increase. Months for an MRI or specialist. When you are too old - certain procedures are not covered. Most of the world mooches off the R and D we pay for. Government cannot maintain quality health care, just as they do a poor job with education infrastructure etc. They cannot even do it with Medicaid/medicare which is insolvent. Health insurance would be rather cheap if the government would allow market forces to control prices and coverage limits.

I have no problem with funding the fire department by billing those that actually use their services. You are asking me to subsidize your lifestyle and health needs. Why stop there. Lets pay for everyone's car and their car insurance. Free housing and guaranteed minimum income too - say 4k monthly. GTFOH. Get off your fat lazy ass and provide for yourself and your family. There are safety nets for those rare cases where someone is truly disabled but they are abused with no consequences.