Quote:
Originally Posted by Robbie
kane you're absolutely correct.
I found out first hand in 2002 when I had my neck and both arms broken in a bad auto accident. I had no insurance. Hell, I was 40 years old and healthy as a horse (still healthy as a horse by the way).
Ended up in ICU for a month and by the time the medical bills all came in...it was almost a quarter MILLION dollars!!!
Once I was back on my feet I began negotiating with the hospital.
The final meeting happened when they told me that since I didn't have insurance they were going to charge me the "REAL" cost!
I was shocked.
I ended up paying a little over $20,000. And $9,000 separately to the surgeon who saved my life on the operating table.
The hospital administration flat out told me that the prices are jacked up with insurance.
It's a complete and total scam that makes money for the insurance company, the hospital....and funnels back to Washington D.C. in the form of "campaign contributions"
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For sure. Most people go to the hospital and then the bill comes, they look at it and put it in a drawer because insurance will pay for it. A friend of mine had to have a neck surgery. The bill came and it was $40K. She laughed it off because insurance paid for all but about $200 of it. Had she been forced to pay for that out of her pocket you know she would have gone over it with a fine tooth comb and negotiated like you did.