Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry-xlovecam
You are so wrong with that statement.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chargemaster
Dude, I (my tax money) don't want to pay for you. There is no free ride on this.
OBSTINATE look the word up.
Unless you are on public assistance, or on Medicaid provided at taxpayer expense by the Obamacare law, you have to pay one way or another -- or the federal government (my tax dollars) pays a settlement for your care as an indigent when the hospital cannot collect.
You know what indigent means? A have not, a bum -- is that you?
If you want to play healthcare roulette, put your money on the wood including all your assets. If you are lucky, an unpaid major medical expense may just ruin your credit for 10 years -- if its a real big expense you will have to file bankruptcy to avoid paying the debt.
Or you can die and take your money with you or leave it to your survivors forsaking any medical help when you are injured or sick.
Yeah, it's fucked up but that is the fucking way it is in the USA. |
I have some insight on this issues as I have been down this road. Several years ago I had a serious illness and ended up in the hospital for a few days. By the time everything was said and done (hospital, follow-up appointments, medicine, etc.) it came to right around $65,0000. Since I have a pre-existing condition I had no health insurance (this was pre-Obamacare) so I told them I was paying cash and needed the cash price. They lowered the bill to $61,000. When I told them I couldn't pay them in the time frame they wanted they threatened to send me to collections and sue me. I ended up having to hire an attorney and they were able to negotiate it down to around $15,000.
You can damn well bet someone paid that $50,000 that I didn't and I'm sure most of that money was recouped by overbilling insurance companies. The crazy thing is, after my initial evaluation and treatment most of the time I was in the hospital was just getting IV meds and being checked on. There were no big procedures so I bet the hospital still made a profit on that $15,000.