(August 28, 2018 at 12:10 pm)Minimalist Wrote: Read.
https://khn.org/news/a-jolt-to-the-jugul...rt-attack/
Quote:A Jolt To The Jugular! You’re Insured But Still Owe $109K For Your Heart Attack
Quote:The heart attack was a shock for Calver, an avid swimmer who had competed in an Ironman triathlon just five months before.
Despite the surprise, even from his hospital bed, Calver asked whether his health insurance would cover all of this, a financial worry that accompanies nearly every American hospital stay. He was concerned because St. David’s is out-of-network on his school district health plan. The hospital told him not to worry and that they would accept his insurance, Calver said.
The hospital charged $164,941 for his surgery and four days in the hospital. Aetna, which administers health benefits for the Austin Independent School District, paid the hospital $55,840, records show. Despite the difference of more than $100,000, with the hospital’s prior assurance, Calver believed he would not bear much, if any, out-of-pocket payment for his life-threatening emergency and the surgery that saved him.
Odd isn't it. Personally, I went to my GP for a persistent pain in my calf that I thought was a simply pulled muscle, but it wouldn't go away, so I visited my doc. He was not happy so from there I went to the hospital for a sonogram of the offending leg, massive clots found and DVT diagnosed, next thing I know I am crashing through doors like you see on TV. 5 days in ICU on intravenous thinners followed by six months on blood thinners. Cost to me? Nothing.
The American system is so much better, no?
And I can go a step further. My long dead mother had 2 heart attacks followed by a quadruple bypass, 30 days in intensive care (unheard of) and a shedload of rehab. Cost to her? nothing. Cost to an American $250,000+.
But then we all operate a socialist system which you hate. Much more christian to let your sick just die, right?
