$89,000 snake bite

[i'va biggen]

Eric Fergerson was charged $89,000 for a 18 hour stay for snakebite, the Hosp charged him $81,000 for a four oz of anti venom which was found on line for $750. Of course this is not price gouging from the hosp it is the fault of Obama care right.,

[Old-T]

Of course it is. My last ER visit was--fortunately--a number of years ago. Pre-Obama. The itemized bill include--among a lot of other things--a $20 piece of gauze (2"x2", same as you can buy at Walgreens), $15 for a Band-Aid (Opps! I exaggerate, it was only $14.99). And a separate bill from the anesthesiologist--who I never saw and who never saw me because I had no need of one!--for almost $5,000.

I don't like obamacare, but the wonderful world of pre-obamacare healthcare isn't someplace I want to go back to either.

Sure would be nice if one party or the other could put forth a rational, workable health agenda. Opps, what am I thinking of! That would require cooperation.

[Whirlaway]

Return the power to the consumer and watch prices drop; if consumers had skin in the game, then pricing would be realistic.

BTW, most people who start threads with this kind of a news item usually provide a link to the story......you might learn something one day.

[Guest032516]

Originally Posted by Whirlaway

Return the power to the consumer and watch prices drop; if consumers had skin in the game, then pricing would be realistic.

BTW, most people who start threads with this kind of a news item usually provide a link to the story......you might learn something one day.

Pure nonsense.

Most people who talk about returning power to the consumer usually cannot learn something one day - ever.

Consumers already have skin in the game - particularly the millions of people who don't have insurance through their jobs. And yet, despite that huge market, medical costs are ridiculous.

The problem with healthcare is that it is NOT and never can be a rational market like car buying or refrigerators.

When you are sick, you are sick, and you need help right away. You don't have time to do research or negotiate with hospitals. They have all the information and expertise and you have none.

What should the guy with the snake bite have done? Ordered the anti-venom on Amazon and then wait a few days for delivery?

If the hospitals and doctors have all the information and the consumers have little or none and are desperate for help, you will always get situations like this.

The hospitals basically make up numbers to meet their budgets. There is no rational rational connection for the service provided.

That is why Old-T's bandage cost $15 and they tried to slip in a bill from an anesthesiologist that he never saw. That is why the hospital tried to charge $84,000 for 4 ounces of anti-venom and a syringe. That is why hospitals charge $1000 a night JUST for a bed - never mind the actual medical treatment costs.

[JohnnyCap]

Originally Posted by ExNYer

The problem with healthcare is that it is NOT and never can be a rational market like car buying or refrigerators.

You're point is very true but that reason can prevail. But not while it is a for-profit business.

Those with the power to do so should fix people without concern for costs.

There will be more, and more, issues to work out but that is a good starting objective.

[JD Barleycorn]

So having government pay for everything is going to make this better? Better tend to that foot wound Eva. If it gets infected and you have to go to the hospital it could get reallll expensive.

The private sector, if allowed to, always brings the prices down. Whereas when government gets involved the prices always go up. Cronies need to eat too you know.

[JD Barleycorn]

Originally Posted by ExNYer

Pure nonsense.

Most people who talk about returning power to the consumer usually cannot learn something one day - ever.

Consumers already have skin in the game - particularly the millions of people who don't have insurance through their jobs. And yet, despite that huge market, medical costs are ridiculous.

The problem with healthcare is that it is NOT and never can be a rational market like car buying or refrigerators.

When you are sick, you are sick, and you need help right away. You don't have time to do research or negotiate with hospitals. They have all the information and expertise and you have none.

What should the guy with the snake bite have done? Ordered the anti-venom on Amazon and then wait a few days for delivery?

If the hospitals and doctors have all the information and the consumers have little or none and are desperate for help, you will always get situations like this.

The hospitals basically make up numbers to meet their budgets. There is no rational rational connection for the service provided.

That is why Old-T's bandage cost $15 and they tried to slip in a bill from an anesthesiologist that he never saw. That is why the hospital tried to charge $84,000 for 4 ounces of anti-venom and a syringe. That is why hospitals charge $1000 a night JUST for a bed - never mind the actual medical treatment costs.

That is kind of the beauty of private health insurance. When you are sick, they have you over a barrel. They can quadruple the price and you'll pay because you have no choice. The answer is a disinterested third party who will negotiate for you BEFORE you get sick. This is where the emergency room idiots lose it. They have no bargaining power when they show up. Only a law that says that they have to be stablized before you leave. Government (Solyndra, green energy, Obamacare) is a mightly poor negotiator. Lets not even get into military contracts.

[i'va biggen]

Originally Posted by JD Barleycorn

So having government pay for everything is going to make this better? Better tend to that foot wound Eva. If it gets infected and you have to go to the hospital it could get reallll expensive.

The private sector, if allowed to, always brings the prices down. Whereas when government gets involved the prices always go up. Cronies need to eat too you know.

You aren't the sharpest pencil in the box are you JD? Should you read the op? no just babble bullshit.

[JCM800]

Originally Posted by ExNYer

What should the guy with the snake bite have done? Ordered the anti-venom on Amazon and then wait a few days for delivery?

Amazon does offer same day delivery.

[JohnnyCap]

Disinterested parties don't profit.

[flghtr65]

Originally Posted by i'va biggen

Eric Fergerson was charged $89,000 for a 18 hour stay for snakebite, the Hosp charged him $81,000 for a four oz of anti venom which was found on line for $750. Of course this is not price gouging from the hosp it is the fault of Obama care right.,

Here is a link.


http://news.yahoo.com/snake-bite-89000-162515519.html

[JD Barleycorn]

Eva is incapable of intuitive reasoning. Yes, I meant to use that word Eva. The ability to make leaps over where deduction can't take you. Connecting the dots you might say when some of the dots are missing.

[Guest123018-4]

If you do not understand how to negotiate the "bill" down, just like the insurance companies do, you will always pay list price for something. Almost all "prices" are artificially inflated so the end negotiated price will be realistic yet still afford the provider a fair profit.

Maybe he should have searched the internet for some anti-venom and then tried to find who was offering free shipping via UPS ground or maybe even the USPS. It is possible he could have found some that was past the extirpation date and got an even better deal.

I wonder how much it cost to build the hospital that had a place to store the anti-venom so that it would be available when needed.

How long do you think it would take for one of Obama's panels to decide if the snakebite warranted the use of anti-venom or not. Maybe all he needed was a pain pill and sent home.

[Whirlaway]

Snake bites are an exaggeration of most normal medical services whose costs can be drastically lowered through empowerment of consumers; putting them in more direct control of the financial transaction.

Laser Eye Surgery is a better example; not a typically covered insurance expense, consumers have seen the cost of this elective procedure plummet due to market forces !

[Guest032516]

Originally Posted by Whirlaway

Snake bites are an exaggeration of most normal medical services whose costs can be drastically lowered through empowerment of consumers; putting them in more direct control of the financial transaction.

Laser Eye Surgery is a better example; not a typically covered insurance expense, consumers have seen the cost of this elective procedure plummet due to market forces !

It is cheap BECAUSE it is elective. Don't you understand that?

People can see just fine with glasses. There is no life threatening emergency to get Lasik done on your eyes. So eye surgeons have no choice but to get the price down to where it is not much more expensive than glasses. Which is why the medical offices where they do laser eye surgeries are set up like assembly lines and the doctors only spend about 15 minutes per patient.

How do you apply that to a patient who is suffering a heart attack or ruptured appendix or lethal snake bite or is in agonizing pain, RIGHT NOW?

They will be dead long before they can negotiate anything with a hospital. And the hospitals KNOW the patient is desperate and have absolutely no reason to come down in price.

You CANNOT treat healthcare like regular commodities whose prices are susceptible to the wonders of the free market.