American Health Care is Fucked up big time

[F-U-Jimmy]

So here's the deal
One of my employees cut their finger with a knife while working at one of my Restaurants. It was a very small 1/4" long cut but quite deep so we sent her off to the local emergency room to have it looked at just in case. She sat patiently for 3 hours waiting to be seen, as it was deemed she was not an urgent case ( thats fine it was a very small cut but to avoid problems further along its best to have these things taken care of professional right ?)

Ok so she's seen by one nurse who takes a quick look and disappears another nurse drops in and says its fine you dont need a stitch we will just glue it with skin glue and give you a tetanus jab. Great so after exactly 5 minute of treatment my employee leaves feeling fine. She come into work next day and the cut is almost gone it was so small.

The crunch comes when i get a call today from their billing department This person told me the cost of the treatment to which i replied you have to be FUCKING joking she said thats why you have workers comp insurance. To which i replied i pay workers comp to protect my employees not to allow you or your company to rip them off by charging unbelievably high amounts for 5 minutes work.

So just in case im over reacting id like someone to give me an idea of what something like this should reasonable cost, 5 minute treatment i jab for tetanus and one drop of crazy glue thats it absolutely nothing else ?

[IllTestYourGirls]

You are talking about health insurance not health care there is a difference. and it is the health insurances that are driving up costs.

[D Ghost]

I Agree....

[Peaches]

I pay the guy who cleans up the brush in my yard $X an hour. I pay someone to clean my house $X+ an hour. I pay my car mechanic $X++ an hour. I pay my doctor $X+++ an hour.

You're not just paying for 5 minutes of time, a shot and some glue, you're paying for expertise to know she just needed shots and some glue.

Unfortunately you're also paying for all the people who AREN'T paying and get free medical care. THAT'S who you should be angry with, IMO.

[LiveDose]

The word reasonable doesn't exist when you talk about going to the ER without good insurance. Hopefully they didn't give her any asprin. That would pop your bill about 30 bucks per.

This reminds me of a time when I had restaurants in NYC and one of our cooks cut his arm on the meat slicer. It was a mess. The ER was so packed that we waited for about 5 hours. Bloody towels against the wound. I had to keep him from passing out. It was a fucking nightmare.

[L-Pink]

Should be about $200.00 to $300.00 at a hospital.

Should be about $150.00 to $200.00 at a local treatment center.

[L-Pink]

Originally Posted by L-Pink

Should be about $200.00 to $300.00 at a hospital.

Should be about $150.00 to $200.00 at a local treatment center.

I just noticed you are in San Diego, I'll up my hospital guess to $800.00 to $1,000.00

[Phoenix]

it would cost you nothing here

but that wouldn't sit well with some foks in this thread

they'd rather let kids die in the street from simple infections before letting them get treated

[L-Pink]

Only eight posts for the Canadians to show up ... lol

Is workers comp free there also?

[spunkmaster]

You sent her there to cover your ass and now you're complaining.

There's thousands of urgent care clinics all over the US that charge about $40.00 per visit and you sent someone to the ER for a nicked finger !

[L-Pink]

Originally Posted by spunkmaster

You sent her there to cover your ass and now you're complaining.

There's thousands of urgent care clinics all over the US that charge about $40.00 per visit and you sent someone to the ER for a nicked finger !

My local urgent treatment charges $80.00 to walk in the door.

[kane]

Typically the second you walk into the emergency room it is around $600 and they add of from there.

If she went to a regular doctor it would have probably been around 100-200 depending on the cost of the shot.

When you go to the ER you are not just paying for your treatment, you are paying for everyone that goes there, gets treatment and never pays.

[baddog]

I like to get paid for what I know, not what I do. I presume doctors are the same way.

[F-U-Jimmy]

Originally Posted by spunkmaster

You sent her there to cover your ass and now you're complaining.

There's thousands of urgent care clinics all over the US that charge about $40.00 per visit and you sent someone to the ER for a nicked finger !

Nope your wrong urgent care was closed on a Sunday ??? go figure

[Tom_PM]

I'm going to guess $1200.

$500 to $600 for "admittance" alone.

[F-U-Jimmy]

I still think the $1,300.00 is extortion and im not paying it, the insurance pays it. I just think they are taking advantage of the insurance system you have in America and every one will pay for this one way or the other. Premiums will increase for workers comp and health insurance. I much prefer the system in the UK where you pay national insurance along with your tax and then health care is free to everyone, we have private Drs but even they dont rip people off to this extent

[Tom_PM]

Yep, I agree.. When I had to call an ambulance, the ride was $600, admittance about $500, an ER doctor seeing me was several more hundred. 4 days later the bill was over $38,000. Awesome huh?

[F-U-Jimmy]

Originally Posted by PR_Tom

I'm going to guess $1200.

$500 to $600 for "admittance" alone.

Almost spot on it was $1,278.00

[TheSenator]

Originally Posted by F-U-Jimmy

Almost spot on it was $1,278.00

That is about right. USA USA USA

Universal Health Care.

[judycash]

a few years ago I was taken to the emergency room in an ambulance got to the hospital they put me in the waiting room waited for 4 hours in that time I filled out the ins. paper work and made copies of my ins. card. had 8 stitches in my forehead. $2000 later. I actually had to go to court a year later because they never bothered to bill my ins. company two years later I am still sending paperwork to these companies and the battles continues

[L-Pink]

Three years ago I was in the hospital for Four days. My pancreas was acting weird, hurt a lot but no surgery only tests and drugs. I had a bill of about 30 grand of which more than $8000.00 was for morphine. Would have been cheaper to score heroin for months. What kind of a gross profit % are they running?

[tony286]

For what they charge they should have better service. When my dad was in the hospital it was terrible well paid people with a I dont give a shit attitude. Ask Mike about his nightmare time after his surgery, it was so bad he had family members stay every night with him to take care of him.When I have a week left on this planet, I would rather stay at the ritz carlton better service, food and much cheaper than a week at the hospital.

[baddog]

Originally Posted by F-U-Jimmy

I much prefer the system in the UK where you pay national insurance along with your tax and then health care is free to everyone, we have private Drs but even they dont rip people off to this extent

Sounds easy enough.

[the Shemp]

Originally Posted by L-Pink

Only eight posts for the Canadians to show up ... lol

Is workers comp free there also?

no, the employer pays it ...

[kane]

Originally Posted by tony404

For what they charge they should have better service. When my dad was in the hospital it was terrible well paid people with a I dont give a shit attitude. Ask Mike about his nightmare time after his surgery, it was so bad he had family members stay every night with him to take care of him.When I have a week left on this planet, I would rather stay at the ritz carlton better service, food and much cheaper than a week at the hospital.

some hospitals are good, others suck bad. My mom went through some health problems about two years ago. The first place she went was terrible. the doctor spent 2 minutes with her, dismissed all her problems and sent her home. She was back the next day with the same problem. This time they admitted her and were a little better, but still she would turn on her light for help and it would take them 20 minutes to get in there, good thing it wasn't something serious.

About a month ago she had an allergic reaction to a medicine and went via ambulance to a different hospital. it was like night and day. This place was all over the care, the people were nice and everyone was spot on with their job. It is amazing the difference in care you can get just a few miles apart.

[L-Pink]

Originally Posted by the Shemp

no, the employer pays it ...

Malpractice? Can doctors working under Canadas free health service be sued?

What about Canadian doctors for private payment services?

A neighbor who is a surgeon pays around $200,000.00 a year .... That's a lot of money to pass on to patients

[Paul Markham]

Originally Posted by baddog

I like to get paid for what I know, not what I do. I presume doctors are the same way.

Few people get paid for what they know, they get paid for what they do with that knowledge. You, doctors and the guy who takes out the trash.

Otherwise if the guy who takes out the trash had a university degree he would earn more than me.

[Paul Markham]

A friend of mine lives in So Cal and recently was diagnosed with ulcers. He had the tests and they decided that he needed treatment. Bill $60,000 for the hospital stay, operation, after care and tests.

He thought fuck that it's a rip off, so he flew to England and as a UK citizen he is entitled to free medical care. Had the tests, operation, stay, after care and he flew back recently for a follow up examination.

Total costs two return flight tickets to the UK costing $1,000 each = $2,000.

The care and attention he got was excellent.

He recently got the bill from the hospital for the tests. $100,000. They charged him more for the tests than they quoted for the treatment. Now they discover the tests were a lot more expensive than they originally thought. He has told them to

UK health care is not free. someone pays for it. They also pay for a bloated administration system, what they don't pay for is rip off merchants who are there to fleece you for as much as they can get.

[the Shemp]

Originally Posted by L-Pink

Malpractice? Can doctors working under Canadas free health service be sued?

What about Canadian doctors for private payment services?

A neighbor who is a surgeon pays around $200,000.00 a year .... That's a lot of money to pass on to patients

"Malpractice suits can be brought against not only the doctor or doctors involved, but the nurses and hospital too. This can make for quite a few defendants.

A doctor is entitled to rely on the nurses and other employees of the hospital to properly perform their duties. If a doctor gives proper instructions to a nurse, and she fails to carry them out, the nurse, not the doctor, will normally be liable.

The hospital itself has a duty to properly administer the facility to avoid any harm to the patient. This means they must have enough competent staff, ensure that the staff act only within their competence, and ensure that adequate equipment is available and properly maintained at all times. "

Judgements awarded are much lower than those in the USA...

[Violetta]

move to norway lol

[F-U-Jimmy]

Originally Posted by baddog

Sounds easy enough.

It is, if i ever need hospitalization and im fit enough to travel ill hop on a plane to the UK and in 13 hours im in the best hospitals in the world. If im not fit enough to fly its probably too late to do anything anyway ???

Keep eating ACAI

[F-U-Jimmy]

[QUOTE=UK health care is not free. someone pays for it. They also pay for a bloated administration system, what they don't pay for is rip off merchants who are there to fleece you for as much as they can get.[/QUOTE]

UK health care is paid for in the National Insurance contributions that the employer and employee both pay depending on how much you earn, its based on take home pay so the less wealthy pay less. The average was about £100.00 a month thats around $189.00 You do pay extra for a perscription but im not sure what that is now as i left the UK 12 years ago now

[IllTestYourGirls]

but it very rare that you visit the hospital and actually see a DR you usually see a nurse or intern yet pay as if you were seen by a doctor.

Originally Posted by baddog

I like to get paid for what I know, not what I do. I presume doctors are the same way.

[LadyMischief]

Better than "free health care" in Canada. At least they try to treat you BEFORE you're dead in the US :P