The ridiculous price of hospital care.
I had to go in for some basic blood tests in April. I had the tests taken two days apart at two different facilities. I know for a fact that the first set of tests done included more than the second set and that the second was a subset of the first.
Here's a vague breakdown of what the services were listed as and prices and my total cost:
Blood draw 1 done at Quest Diagnostics. Insurance reports back 4 tests were done with accompanying procedure codes and a total charge of around $250 of which some amount is discounted and then they pay a percentage of the remaining leaving me with a bill of around $10.
Blood draw 2 done at a local hospital (because no one else was open and the nurse wanted the second draw as close to 48 hours after the first as possible). Insurance reports back two charges, no codes, with a total charge of around $400. The insurance discounts it about $300 and then pays a percentage leaving me with a bill around $12.
What the hell is wrong with our medical system that our hospitals are charging so much for so much less? I can see how this immediately starts to really burden the system as well as the patients when they don't have insurance.
Here's a vague breakdown of what the services were listed as and prices and my total cost:
Blood draw 1 done at Quest Diagnostics. Insurance reports back 4 tests were done with accompanying procedure codes and a total charge of around $250 of which some amount is discounted and then they pay a percentage of the remaining leaving me with a bill of around $10.
Blood draw 2 done at a local hospital (because no one else was open and the nurse wanted the second draw as close to 48 hours after the first as possible). Insurance reports back two charges, no codes, with a total charge of around $400. The insurance discounts it about $300 and then pays a percentage leaving me with a bill around $12.
What the hell is wrong with our medical system that our hospitals are charging so much for so much less? I can see how this immediately starts to really burden the system as well as the patients when they don't have insurance.