cliaz Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 I'm looking over a bill that was sent to me. After going to the ear, nose and throat Dr. I received a bill for the amount that I owe. No biggie, it's only $101 I have to pay out of $680. But one of the charges on there is just plain stupid. It's called Surgical Tray Fee and it costs me/my insurance $75. Chargerz please enlighten me as to why a tray would have a fee of $75? When all he had on it was a flexable strobe and some paper towls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 Hooray! Another enlightened citizen - the entire medical system is a total rip-off and we are all paying for it. This system is the equal of defense contractors for it's outrageous billing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliaz Posted June 16, 2006 Author Share Posted June 16, 2006 Hooray! Another enlightened citizen - the entire medical system is a total rip-off and we are all paying for it. This system is the equal of defense contractors for it's outrageous billing. couldn't have said it better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 couldn't have said it better. If I had it to hand, I would itemize the lines on a bill for my daughter to spend one night in a Madison hospital. Some of them were flat out insane. Suffice to say it was over $7,000 total - I had to enlist the aid of our excellent benefits admin to avoid the insurance company sticking me with the entire bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliaz Posted June 16, 2006 Author Share Posted June 16, 2006 If I had it to hand, I would itemize the lines on a bill for my daughter to spend one night in a Madison hospital. Some of them were flat out insane. Suffice to say it was over $7,000 total - I had to enlist the aid of our excellent benefits admin to avoid the insurance company sticking me with the entire bill. It so freaking terrible. The Drs. know they can charge anything they want just like Lawyers because who else can do their job? No one that isn't a Dr. or a Lawyer and the Drs know they will get paid by the ins. companies who prolly have their hands in the pharm. companies who in turn have their hands in the pockets of the Drs. it's like a horrible circle of corruption. I would love to see Police get paid what a Lawyer does. Kind of a$$ backwards there, the police risk their lives to arrest someone and the pen pusher lawyer gets to charge $400 an hr. to defend that client. Totally wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolv Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 Can't remember where I heard or read this, but someone was charged like $70 for 'mucous relief aid' or some such. It was a box of Kleenex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecerwin Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 I would love to see Police get paid what a Lawyer does. Kind of a$$ backwards there, the police risk their lives to arrest someone and the pen pusher lawyer gets to charge $400 an hr. to defend that client. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cameltosis Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 I was a kid so I dont remember the monetary value exactly but my parents/insurance were charged like $800 for the drill used to put the screw in my knee. My dad asked for the drill since he paid for it. Obviously the drill was not presented to the Camel family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtomicCEO Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 When my wife had surgery, they charged her insurance $15 for a travel/trial size bottle of a common moisturizer. You know... the bottles you get in a bin at a drug store for 50 cents? It just leads me to believe that when an overwhelmed corporation is paying the bills, they don't pay attention to what is on them. I wonder if that would change if more people started using those healthcare savings accounts and were paying their own bills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonkis Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 I have good insurance (mostly 90/10) provided by work, but nonetheless end up spending silly amounts out of pocket. 4 kids under the age of twelve and a wife who had back issues two years ago, I spend $5k a year on medical bills outside of my contribution to premium. It makes me sick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmarc117 Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 I would love to see Police get paid what a Lawyer does. Kind of a$$ backwards there, the police risk their lives to arrest someone and the pen pusher lawyer gets to charge $400 an hr. to defend that client. it should be like judge dread!!! arrested and sentenced all at one!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Czarina Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 This is all about the insurance industry. That extra layer of crap between you and paying your doctor. Everything cost 20x more than it should because if a nurse gives you an aspirin she has to take the time to document it, then QA does the audit to see that it was done, then billing audits happen, then the insurance company does the same on its end. All those people in the chain need to get paid. Not to mention the records clerks who have to shuffle all this damn paper around and woe be to them if a piece of paper gets misfiled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJoTheWebToedBoy Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 Now add in the extremely high cost of MalPratice Insurance. IMO the blame lies directly on the Insurance companies and the legal system that allows bullsh!t claims to flood the system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecerwin Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 It makes me sick. Don't go to a hospital. They charge too much. Just suck it up and hope it is a 24 hour bug. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chargerz Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 I'm looking over a bill that was sent to me. After going to the ear, nose and throat Dr. I received a bill for the amount that I owe. No biggie, it's only $101 I have to pay out of $680. But one of the charges on there is just plain stupid. It's called Surgical Tray Fee and it costs me/my insurance $75. Chargerz please enlighten me as to why a tray would have a fee of $75? When all he had on it was a flexable strobe and some paper towls. This is all about the insurance industry. That extra layer of crap between you and paying your doctor. Everything cost 20x more than it should because if a nurse gives you an aspirin she has to take the time to document it, then QA does the audit to see that it was done, then billing audits happen, then the insurance company does the same on its end. All those people in the chain need to get paid. Not to mention the records clerks who have to shuffle all this damn paper around and woe be to them if a piece of paper gets misfiled. Czarina hit the nail on the head. I work in a prepaid HMO so our billing is completely different and internalized. Most of our fees are co-pays which are paid up front. Still, my HMO has all the middle-men workers mentioned above just like the third-party insurance company payers. The bureaucracy is incredible. You're lucky you only got hit with a $75 tray fee. It could have been worse!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliaz Posted June 16, 2006 Author Share Posted June 16, 2006 Czarina hit the nail on the head. I work in a prepaid HMO so our billing is completely different and internalized. Most of our fees are co-pays which are paid up front. Still, my HMO has all the middle-men workers mentioned above just like the third-party insurance company payers. The bureaucracy is incredible. You're lucky you only got hit with a $75 tray fee. It could have been worse!! But how can they get away legally with charging that? I don't understand. Should I start charging people a breathable air fee when they walk onto my property? Understand I'm not ding you about this, I just don't understand how using a tray cost $75. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whiskey Pimp Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 But how can they get away legally with charging that? I don't understand. Should I start charging people a breathable air fee when they walk onto my property? Understand I'm not ding you about this, I just don't understand how using a tray cost $75. Maybe next time ask them what things they need to put on the tray and tell them you'll gladly go get them yourself and carry them in. We don't have these fees up here but it does take about 6 months to get things like an MRI done. It's fast, expensive, out of pocket service vs extremely slow, free, might die before you get help service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 But how can they get away legally with charging that? I don't understand. Should I start charging people a breathable air fee when they walk onto my property? Understand I'm not ding you about this, I just don't understand how using a tray cost $75. It's exactly the same principle as the $800 hammer of Halliburton fame. The hospital puts stupid numbers on the bill knowing that the insurance company will pay, and the insurance company pays because it knows it can pass the costs on to the customer i.e. employers and the taxpayers. The Pentagon does the same thing - they don't give a rats ass about cost overruns because it's all nonsense taxpayer money to them and the government won't do anything about it. Fundamentally, it all comes down to corruption. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecerwin Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 Maybe next time ask them what things they need to put on the tray and tell them you'll gladly go get them yourself and carry them in. We don't have these fees up here but it does take about 6 months to get things like an MRI done. It's fast, expensive, out of pocket service vs extremely slow, free, might die before you get help service. Canadian? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 Canadian? He is indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 Maybe next time ask them what things they need to put on the tray and tell them you'll gladly go get them yourself and carry them in. We don't have these fees up here but it does take about 6 months to get things like an MRI done. It's fast, expensive, out of pocket service vs extremely slow, free, might die before you get help service. It isn't exactly lightning here either - it can take weeks or months to see a specialist. And you can go bankrupt if you get ill for a long time - in fact, that's a near certainty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocknrobn26 Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 (edited) Don't get me started. After my 2.5 day stay, on 1/1-1/3/06 in the hospital ($45/ prevacid($3/ retail), $1/ baby aspirin....) the insurance company still says I owe $15,500! They claim the hosp. didn't bill it right and the hosp. says they sent a reject on an over-nite stay 1 day too late!!!!!!!! I may be on the hook for that full amount and I did everything I was supposed to do. If that happens, I gotta find a lawyer. Screw these Ins. Co's!!!!!!! Edited June 16, 2006 by rocknrobn26 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliaz Posted June 16, 2006 Author Share Posted June 16, 2006 want to hear something interesting, we just got the bill from when I took my son to get the MRI done. The MRI is $1008.13 (what a weird figure but whatever.) Ins. rejected the claim. So now I have to go into a nice month long routine of pushing the claim and them rejecting it. It would be nice if we could mix the canadian medical servers and ours together. Free and fast. But that is such a pipe dream right there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Neutron Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 Don't get me started. After my 2.5 day stay, on 1/1-1/3/06 in the hospital ($45/ prevacid($3/ retail), $1/ baby aspirin....) the insurance company still says I owe $15,500! They claim the hosp. didn't bill it right and the hosp. says they sent a reject on an over-nite stay 1 day too late!!!!!!!! I may be on the hook for that full amount and I did everything I was supposed to do. If that happens, I gotta find a lawyer. Screw these Ins. Co's!!!!!!! Ya know, the sad thing is that lawyers are getting rich off this gig too. It's a pretty good system they have going. We're the only ones losing out, both monitarily and in the quality of care. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 Don't get me started. After my 2.5 day stay, on 1/1-1/3/06 in the hospital ($45/ prevacid($3/ retail), $1/ baby aspirin....) the insurance company still says I owe $15,500! They claim the hosp. didn't bill it right and the hosp. says they sent a reject on an over-nite stay 1 day too late!!!!!!!! I may be on the hook for that full amount and I did everything I was supposed to do. If that happens, I gotta find a lawyer. Screw these Ins. Co's!!!!!!! I love the pre-approval process. I think it's great how you get really sick and the first thing you've got to do is call the insurance company to get pre-approved for a hospital visit. That was partly the issue with my daughter and her stay - the insurance company sent a letter (!) after an emergency admission saying that they didn't think it warranted an overnight stay. Who the F are these bureaucrats to decide what is and isn't needed? Not only that, it arrived two days after she was discharged. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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