I’ll start the review off on a positive note, the hospital staff was great. I was treated well from the start with registration, to the end with the nurse for discharge.
Why the low star review? Well the cost of service, it’s not just this hospital but all of them in our entire nation. I arrived on July 4th with being the unfortunate victim of a Russian fly hook in my middle finger. Now had this been any other day, I would’ve visited an urgent care clinic but everything was closed due to it being a holiday. Yes I did attempt to remove the hook myself, unfortunately I was unable to.
My visit included a triage by RN (3-5mins) that for some reason rated my acuity at a moderate severity. I work in an ER as an RN and we utilize a triage process called ESI which grades acuity on resources utilized on a visit. Regardless, if this was a moderate acuity I’d hate to see what a severe acuity level looks like to this ER. Once I was roomed I waited about 5mins for the ER Doctor who already had a shot of lidocaine drawn up. He injected my finger and returned 3 minutes later with a piece of string in which he used to forcefully rip the hook out. After he left it took the RN about 30ish minutes to get me my discharge paper work with a tetanus shot. During the 30 minute wait I cleansed and dressed the affected area myself.
Now where the true issue begins, I spent about 1-1.5hours in the ER with about 10 minutes with actual licensed professionals. 5ish minutes with the MD and about 3ish minutes with the RN. For the 10 minutes, 1 lidocaine shot, and 1 tetanus shot they charged $1745.30 what a joke! I’ve got great insurance as well, obviously not good enough for their pockets. Here’s a break down of what to expect for 10 minutes of this hospitals time.
$632.00 for the moderate severity MD bill
$970.00 to sit in the room at the ER
$21.00 for a blood pressure cuff, 2 needles and a syringe
$88.30 for their pharmacy to validate and provide lidocaine
$34.00 for a tetanus shot
My insurance paid the MD $513.18 in which he would like another $118.82 on top of that already paid.
My insurance paid the hospital $963.30 in which they would like another $150.00.
My insurance paid a total of $1476.48 in which they would like another $268.82. I suppose $150 dollars a minute for care just is not enough.
That’s right, I paid $150 dollars a minute for what I received and they really feel it should be $180 dollars a minute.
Now I understand some of the billing that healthcare providers and the hospital have to charge to make a sensible profit and/or break even on Medicare patients. But I’m left with this violated feeling, a feeling I’m left with because of the ability to pay a bill and private insurance.
This is a feeling that millions of people have on a daily basis. You reach out for medical care at a time of need, even when you work hard to care for your own health and to avoid ever having to visit a hospital at all costs. That moment when you require that medical care, you hope to receive amazing care just as the one providing it to you would wish it for themselves or their loved ones. Some receive great care, some do not. Despite your quality of care, you will be charged all the same. There’s only one guarantee once your visit is complete. The hospital bill will arrive once your insurance company has paid them way more than should ever be charged for a service. The remainder of that absurd bill will be sent to you where the hospital will get a chance to pillage your lively hood also. I’m honestly not sure what was more offending, the amount the insurance company agreed to pay or the fact the hospital wants more money on top of that.
Turns out they billed me incorrectly after I told them they triaged me at an incorrect acuity. My bill was sent in for review and somehow was 1100 dollars cheaper. Unless you understand ESI triage process how would someone know that? I wonder how many others have been incorrectly billed for?
