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Snakebite victim charged $89,000 for 18-hour hospital stay
A snakebite victim who was treated at a North Carolina hospital came away with more than just fang marks when he received an $89,227 bill for an 18-hour stay.
Eric Ferguson, 54, from Mooresville, N.C., got the staggering bill for anti-venom medicine and a short visit at Lake Norman Regional Center, according to the Charlotte Observer, after a snake bit him in the foot while he was taking out the garbage.
According to his bill, the hospital charged a whopping $81,000 for a four-vial dose of the medication.
For comparison, Ferguson and his wife found the same vials online for retail prices as low as $750.
Ferguson, who is insured, said his care was "beyond phenomenal."
"It was just the sticker shock," he said.
The hospital reduced the bill to $20,227 because of a contract with Ferguson's insurer. In the end, he paid $5,400 of his own money for his deductible and co-pay.
The hospital defended its prices, saying it has to charge prices higher than retail because of the various discounts it is required to give insurers.
The Fergusons' case is, of course, not unique. A 2013 cover story by Steven Brill in Time magazine ("Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us") detailed the "outrageous pricing and egregious profits" destroying the U.S. health care system, noting that Americans were expected to spend an estimated $2.8 trillion on health care last year.
And yet, people still claim that there is nothing wrong with our medical system here in the states
And yet, people still claim that there is nothing wrong with our medical system here in the states
Very few people have ever claimed that and there was bi partisan support prior to the 2008 election for healthcare reform. The Democrats had a golden opportunity and blew it.
Very few people have ever claimed that and there was bi partisan support prior to the 2008 election for healthcare reform. The Democrats had a golden opportunity and blew it.
Your right, people are or have started realizing things need to change in our system. But there was a lot of people on these boards and tv/media who said the US had the best healthcare model in the world and nothing needed to be changed and that's just....well either they are ignorant on the issue or in denial.
Either way, the ACA needs changes, but if the republican response to the state of the union address is what I think it was, it seems to me that they agree going back to the way things were is now out of the question.
who said the US had the best healthcare model in the world and nothing needed to be changed and that's just....
The only issue with US healthcare is access because of the cost, that is what needed to be addressed. The unaffordable care act addressed access for many people but it doesn't address the fundamental issue which is the cost, quite the opposite it appears. This law has taken a bad situation and made it worse.
Quote:
the ACA needs changes,
There is only one of two things that is going to fix this now. A)You need to repeal it entirely and allow the insurance companies to drop all the people that signed up that are sick.... not going to happen. B)Give teeth to the mandate; real fines, garnish wages, jail time...... not going to happen either.
For comparison, Ferguson and his wife found the same vials online for retail prices as low as $750.
One other thing, he could of ordered it but I'd imagine he'd be dead by the time it arrived. The question becomes is how many of these vials the hospital keeps in stock and how often they expire. If you have one person walking in with snake bite every ten years the costs are going to escalate to keep it on hand.
....and if he hadn't been insured, he would have been on the hook for the entire $89,000.
That's too damned much.
No he would not have. That's not how hospital billing works. Hospital rates are drastically reduced for uninsured patients. The bill would have been between that $5400 and $20,000 number. And he would only have been on the hook for 20% of his income maximum. So if he made $50,000, then his bill would have been $10,000.
01-29-2014, 01:34 AM
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n/a posts
Why not just give them back the four vials...or better yet, charge them $81k for it?
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