First brush with US healthcare system
Apr 11th 2007, 3:19 am
#31
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 68,280
Re: First brush with US healthcare system
but do check your cupboards for jars of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter with the product code number beginning with "2111",
Apr 11th 2007, 3:21 am
#32
Greatly Missed. RIP
Joined: Jun 2005
Location: Middle of the Mountains
Posts: 3,521
Apr 11th 2007, 4:28 am
#33
Powder Maggot
Joined: Nov 2004
Location: Nuevo Mexico
Posts: 4,452
Re: First brush with US healthcare system
Friend of mine had arthroscopic knee surgery. In the hopsital at 10 am, out at 3 pm. 25 mins total with the surgeon. $23,000.
Apr 11th 2007, 4:36 am
#35
Lapine Member
Joined: Nov 2004
Location: Austin, Texas in my own little world
Posts: 21,691
Re: First brush with US healthcare system
So! BigDavyG ....
how does the NHS compare, value for money?
Ray, that bill was for someone with a suspected heart attack -- but there was also a head CT without contrast?! (contrast is best for suspected stroke)
how does the NHS compare, value for money?
Ray, that bill was for someone with a suspected heart attack -- but there was also a head CT without contrast?! (contrast is best for suspected stroke)
Apr 11th 2007, 4:47 am
#36
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 68,280
Re: First brush with US healthcare system
the CT scan ..was just a bill booster in my opinion ...
Apr 11th 2007, 5:10 am
#37
Lapine Member
Joined: Nov 2004
Location: Austin, Texas in my own little world
Posts: 21,691
Re: First brush with US healthcare system
And troponin? 
Hope you have good insurance cover!
Apr 11th 2007, 5:20 am
#38
Powder Maggot
Joined: Nov 2004
Location: Nuevo Mexico
Posts: 4,452
Re: First brush with US healthcare system
I'm sure there was also an extruded rectangular containment device ($1000) loaded ($500) with fifty units of mucous-attracting flexible fibrous wafers ($100 x 50), of which he used fifteen ($20 x 15), the remaining thirty five subject to a 80% restocking fee ($80 x 35) plus a resterilization fee ($40 x 35).
Apr 11th 2007, 5:40 am
#39
Account Closed
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,245
Re: First brush with US healthcare system
My fiances mother died of a rare cancer about 1 1\2 years ago. The bills came to about.......
$3,000,000
/insert sound of cash register here.
$3,000,000
/insert sound of cash register here.
Apr 11th 2007, 6:34 am
#40
Account Closed
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 8,266
Re: First brush with US healthcare system
Apr 11th 2007, 12:03 pm
#41
In the pink
Joined: Oct 2006
Location: USA
Posts: 3,324
Re: First brush with US healthcare system
In most cases like this, the person has chased experimental treatments, that have not yet been approved by the FDA, and are not covered by insurance. Obviously, if everyone received these treatments, the insurance companies would fold. These experimental treatments would also not be available to anyone on socialised medicine. People make these choices because they know they are dying.
Not saying this happened to the above person (as obviously I don't know her), but generally this is what happens.
Apr 11th 2007, 12:08 pm
#42
Just Joined
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 2
Re: First brush with US healthcare system
The average pregnancy in the US is supposed to cost somewhere around $10,000.
Mine was $145,000.
To be fair I did have a problem that made me see a perinatologist weekly - his bills alone were $1,000 a week. Thank goodness for insurance. My hospital stay alone was over $50,000. (no c-section either)
BTW - in Dundee Tayside NHS system I was pregnant as well. They caught the medical condition I mentioned that made my pregnancy very high-risk... know what they did about it?
Nowt. The nurse actually laughed when she discovered it and said that's funny. I asked if it posed a problem and was told no.
I had a miscarriage. I never knew what my condition was until I went to an OBGYN in Atlanta. Thankfully I now have a very healthy and very active 9 month old daughter.
Mine was $145,000.
To be fair I did have a problem that made me see a perinatologist weekly - his bills alone were $1,000 a week. Thank goodness for insurance. My hospital stay alone was over $50,000. (no c-section either)
BTW - in Dundee Tayside NHS system I was pregnant as well. They caught the medical condition I mentioned that made my pregnancy very high-risk... know what they did about it?
Nowt. The nurse actually laughed when she discovered it and said that's funny. I asked if it posed a problem and was told no.
I had a miscarriage. I never knew what my condition was until I went to an OBGYN in Atlanta. Thankfully I now have a very healthy and very active 9 month old daughter.
Apr 11th 2007, 12:15 pm
#43
Homebody
Joined: Jan 2005
Location: HOME
Posts: 23,179
Re: First brush with US healthcare system
In most cases like this, the person has chased experimental treatments, that have not yet been approved by the FDA, and are not covered by insurance. Obviously, if everyone received these treatments, the insurance companies would fold. These experimental treatments would also not be available to anyone on socialised medicine. People make these choices because they know they are dying.
Not saying this happened to the above person (as obviously I don't know her), but generally this is what happens.
Not saying this happened to the above person (as obviously I don't know her), but generally this is what happens.
Nobody outside the US uses this term. All European countries think of it as universal healthcare.
Apr 11th 2007, 12:21 pm
#44
MODERATOR
Joined: Nov 2006
Location: Hong Kong, mostly.
Posts: 5,214
Re: First brush with US healthcare system
You should always fight your insurance company when they refuse to pay. Sometimes they are jerks, sometimes they make honest mistakes. You just have to be ready to push back.
A friend of mine passed away a few years ago from cancer. She was the chief attorney for the Health Insurance lobby in Washington. She was profiled in the Wall Street Journal because neither she, nor her husband (the chief lobbyist) could sort through the 100s of pages of bills for her treatment, despite representing the health insurance industry. "If they couldn't figure it out, how can you" was the basic premise of the piece. They pushed and clawed and fought their insurance company to get her the treatment she needed (including some experimental stuff).
http://www.zoominfo.com/search/Perso...onID=168715454 is her bio.
FWIW, she was also one of the pioneers of a new breast cancer therapy utilizing some new medications. Of the 45 women in her test group, 44 died in six months. She lived about two more years (she was a really tough, athletic woman) and by staying around she provided tremendous data for the doctors who were researching the drug (the research doctors actually spoke at her funeral praising her for giving them such valuable research data that would save other lives).
A friend of mine passed away a few years ago from cancer. She was the chief attorney for the Health Insurance lobby in Washington. She was profiled in the Wall Street Journal because neither she, nor her husband (the chief lobbyist) could sort through the 100s of pages of bills for her treatment, despite representing the health insurance industry. "If they couldn't figure it out, how can you" was the basic premise of the piece. They pushed and clawed and fought their insurance company to get her the treatment she needed (including some experimental stuff).
http://www.zoominfo.com/search/Perso...onID=168715454 is her bio.
FWIW, she was also one of the pioneers of a new breast cancer therapy utilizing some new medications. Of the 45 women in her test group, 44 died in six months. She lived about two more years (she was a really tough, athletic woman) and by staying around she provided tremendous data for the doctors who were researching the drug (the research doctors actually spoke at her funeral praising her for giving them such valuable research data that would save other lives).
Apr 11th 2007, 1:39 pm
#45
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jan 2007
Location: NW Chicago suburbs
Posts: 11,253
Re: First brush with US healthcare system
The average pregnancy in the US is supposed to cost somewhere around $10,000.
Mine was $145,000.
To be fair I did have a problem that made me see a perinatologist weekly - his bills alone were $1,000 a week. Thank goodness for insurance. My hospital stay alone was over $50,000. (no c-section either)
BTW - in Dundee Tayside NHS system I was pregnant as well. They caught the medical condition I mentioned that made my pregnancy very high-risk... know what they did about it?
Nowt. The nurse actually laughed when she discovered it and said that's funny. I asked if it posed a problem and was told no.
I had a miscarriage. I never knew what my condition was until I went to an OBGYN in Atlanta. Thankfully I now have a very healthy and very active 9 month old daughter.
Mine was $145,000.
To be fair I did have a problem that made me see a perinatologist weekly - his bills alone were $1,000 a week. Thank goodness for insurance. My hospital stay alone was over $50,000. (no c-section either)
BTW - in Dundee Tayside NHS system I was pregnant as well. They caught the medical condition I mentioned that made my pregnancy very high-risk... know what they did about it?
Nowt. The nurse actually laughed when she discovered it and said that's funny. I asked if it posed a problem and was told no.
I had a miscarriage. I never knew what my condition was until I went to an OBGYN in Atlanta. Thankfully I now have a very healthy and very active 9 month old daughter.