The hospital scam?

United States
August 29, 2007 9:24am CST
Ok so this has been brewing in my mind since the last time I had to see a doctor. What started as a simple sickness turned into one hefty bill. Why do we pay $300 for a doctor to come in to see us after waiting for HOURS only to find out something we already know? I knew I was sick when I came into the hospital, I know I will still be sick upon leaving. So the only thing this doctor has done for me was scribble a perscription on a pad of paper and send me on my way. This is worth $300 and 4 hours of my time? If I had known the doctor was going to charge me so much money I would have found another way to handle my case of the flu. How do hospitals get away with charging so much money without telling you in advance the doctors eyes are made of diamonds which is why he charges so much for 5 minutes of his time? I strongly believe they should have a basic price chart. Let's see, broken arm? thats $45! I'd much rather pay the $45 than $345 when all is said and done just because the doctor needs to confirm that my arm is indeed broken. Well im no expert but there are some things people can figure out on their own. You know when you are sick, you know when your bones are broken and so on. Why should we get stuck paying for their malpractice insurance just to confirm what we already knew 4 hours ago? It really grinds my gears that no one realizes this the way I do. When you walk into a fast food establishment and say I want a burger, do they make the burger and THEN tell you how much it will be? No they dont they take your money beforehand so you know what the cost will be. The hospital system is the only system in the world that wont give you a price untill the deed is done. And if you dont have insurance? Well thats about the same as having insurance now adays. When all is said and done you recieve bills that say "this is not a bill" and then you spend the next 6 months debating with your insurance company that this was not a "pre-existing condition" or whatever excuse they use to deny you. By then your credit is gone out the window because of the lengthy time it takes them to pay. So why do we pay insurance just so we dont have to pay when we walk into the hospital? Wouldnt it make more sense to just have fixed prices and avoid any insurance hassles by changing the way insurance works and have them give you a credit instead of a debt? We pay a good percentage of our income to recieve coverage from these companies and most of us rarely see a doctor unless its an emergency. Why am I spending $260 a month and still afraid to go to the hospital because I know in advance the insurance wont be picking up the tab or even a percentage of it? What do you think? Should hospitals be allowed not to tell you what you are spending just by walking through the door? Is it a fair system? Should the insurance companies be liable? Or should we pay for insurance that wont even help us when the time comes?
1 person likes this
5 responses
• Philippines
14 Jun 08
We have right to ask why they charge that much.it is big fee
@violeta_va (4831)
• Australia
30 Aug 07
oh I am so lucky I live in australia and we dont have to pay as medicare covers most of our doctor bills (except for specialist but we get a rebate on that so its fine)
• Canada
30 Aug 07
Well, move to Canada if you have gripes on health insurance, its free. Now as for your situation, do some research. See if it really deserves that amount of cash.
@uath13 (8192)
• United States
29 Aug 07
I hate the system myself. The only time I go is when I actually have to have something reattached & can't do it myself. I'm pretty handy with a needle. People survived the flu long before hospitals came about & still can. They get away with this because of the belief that the general public has that they have to go to see the doc for every little thing. They've forgotten how their parents and grandparents handled illnesses.
@crazed_moma (1054)
• United States
30 Aug 07
I hate ERs they charge so much more for bad service. I prefer to know what I'm paying first though. Do you have any Urgent Care or Immediate Care Centers? THey are priced MUCH more reasonably. IMO the drs. should charge less to begin with so people can afford health care! If they can accept it from people "in network" why not from every one?