A former US surgeon general says he went to the ER for dehydration and ended up with a $5,000 bill. He called the healthcare system 'broken.'
A former US surgeon general says he went to the ER for dehydration and ended up with a $5,000 bill. He called the healthcare system 'broken.'
Former US Surgeon General Jerome Adams said he got a $5,000 bill for a recent ER visit, highlighting big problems with the US healthcare system.
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A couple years ago, I ended up in an ambulance due to what turned out to be a small urethra stone. At the hospital, I had an x-ray. When that didn't find the problem, they gave me a CT scan. Once they found the stone, they called in a urologist. I got a consultation, prescription, passed the stone later that day (it was tiny), and recovered very quickly. My total bill was 243'000 Korean won - just about $200 USD. I only had the mandatory insurance that was paid for by my employer. Something to the tune of $50 a month that they are legally required to pay.
The US's system is completely fucked. Broken beyond repair. I wish them luck.
In the US your 243000 would still be the correct amount, but it would be USD.
that was the cost of just my ambulance ride
In other countries, the ambulance is free. They're just sitting there waiting around unless you use them, like firefighters. It makes no sense why it costs so much.
Do you ever have to decide if you want to call the fire department? No, it's "see smoke, call fire department".
US Medical Costs aren't racked up by the complexity of the work or care being given, its by how many people are scheduled to see you, diagnose or provide care. Each of them has a set rate per appointment, so the 200,000 figure for a kidney stone that was confirmed by multiple different specialists is not far off. A broken arm at the ER is basically the trauma nurses, an emergency medical specialist, a surgeon or two, anesthesiologist and their respective teams. The more departments you get passed around to the more your bill goes up.
and 90% for upper administration and billing dept.
Probably not for what OP described, but that's pretty close to the amount they billed my insurance when I broke two bones in my arm.