Comments by "John P" (@johnp139) on "New Bill Tries to Stop \"Surprise\" Doctor Bills" video.

  1. Wow, that’s crazy how DIFFERENT it is in Ohio. My itemized bill from the HOSPITAL (BEFORE insurance) last mont (gallbladder removed) was 10 CENTS for two Tylenol!!!! Maybe that’s because they were 325 mg rather than 500 mg.
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  2. So if you are unconscious and you need some more blood, then they should awaken you and ask your permission?!? STUPID AND TOTALLY DIFFERENT SCENARIO!!!
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  3.  @crazychick  remarkably, if you read the other comments, about 99% actually do. It not only makes your comment much easier to read and comprehend, but it also gives you a little more credibility.
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  4.  @chubbysumo2230  don’t you tip separately at a restaurant? There are dozens of independent contractors working at the hospital, and to force them all to charge to one system would increase overhead and costs and result in more confusion. If I have a question about the anesthesiologists cost, then I would have to call the hospital billing, try to explain my concerns, then they would have to call the anesthesiologist’s billing, try to explain (second hand) my concerns, then hospital billing would have to call me and explain second hand what the anesthesiologist said, then I would have to say “no, that’s not what I said”, and then the whole cycle repeats itself a dozen or so times over the course of 6 months,
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  5. Most insurance companies cover emergency costs as if they were in-network, and if they don’t, YOU have the CHOICE to CHANGE your insurance provider!
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  6. So you apparently volunteered your services. My Tylenol at the hospital was 20 CENTS, so STOP LYING!
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  7. It’s basic economics:supply and demand. The US has AMAZING healthcare providers, but in order to provide amazing healthcare, it has a cost and a limited throughput, albeit a greater throughput than in countries with socialized medicine.
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  8. HOSPITAL BILL last month for gallbladder removal was $71k, but because I was RESPONSIBLE and had medical insurance, my out of pocket expenses was less than $1,000.
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  9.  @SonsOfLorgar  only you pay thousands every year in taxes for your mandatory insurance.
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  10. You just pay outrageous taxes to pay for people that pay little to no taxes. Zero cost at point of service is also very wasteful. People that use the system should have to pay SOMETHING (maybe equivalent to a few pints of beer) to help offset the costs so that the people that are not using the system would be able to at least pay a LITTLE less.
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  11.  @craigg4925  do you drive on the wrong side of the street before your coffee?
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  12. Probably about the same if you had medical insurance.
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  13. EXACTLY!!! So do you want the doctors to get permission from your emergency contact person if they have to crack your chest during surgery to keep you alive? There is no way to layout all of the possible contingencies. Oops, you need another pint of blood, but that wasn’t in your original cost estimate, so too bad, so sad.
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  14. If you got a $3500 bill for the ER, then you obviously didn’t have GOOD medical insurance and you were overcharged for your insurance. Last month I was in two ERs, and in the hospital for 5 days at my out of pocket expenses (including surgery for gallbladder removal) were less than $1000!!’
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  15. That’s irrelevant. How much did your medical insurance cover?
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  16. How can you have BOTH Medicaid AND Medicare coverage? Am I missing something?
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  17. It seems like you were sedated when you wrote this…punctuation is your friend.
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  18. Have you looked into other health insurance plans?
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  19. Why would a company require you to get a doctors note to go back to work without paying for the visit. I think that your choice of employment was a bad decision.
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  20. I’m so glad that I don’t have to pay your outrageous taxes to cover others.
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  21. Ever hear of Medicare Part B supplement?
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  22. False equivalency. If you go into cardiac arrest during surgery, do you want them to TRY to wake you and ask your permission before cracking your chest, or wait several minutes while you DIE to get permission from your emergency contact? SERIOUSLY?!?
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  23. Or submit the bill to your insurance.
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  24. Well, if you don’t IMMEDIATELY fix a car, I doubt that it would permanently die.
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  25.  @cashstore1  other than you throwing money away (assume that you don’t have credit cards because that requires a credit score), that’s your choice.
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  26. Learn how to write.
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  27. I’m sure that your fellow country people paid for it.
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  28. Then it becomes irrelevant
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  29. My Tylenol from the hospital (PRE-insurance) was 20 CENTS, stop propagating these fallacies!!!
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  30. The out of network is BS, but why SHOULDN’T you be charged for the individual services that you received? If you go to a restaurant, you pay for your appetizer, drink, entree and dessert, don’t you? Isn’t THAT in the SAME PLACE?!?
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  31. Are you sure that YOU didn’t get brain damage? Ever hear of PUNCTUATION?!? Was she wearing her seatbelt?
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  32. Yes, we have the freedom to NOT BE FORCED TO PAY FOR OTHERS MEDICAL CARE.
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  33. Does your FOOD and LODGING cost you anything?
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  34. Colleague. They have different experiences. I suppose that you could have refused if you had total trust in that one doctor.
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  35. Learn how to write.
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  36. Did you read the policy?
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  37.  @gregsimon9061  the point is that you shouldn’t expect something to be covered that the policy doesn’t say is covered. Either it’s covered or it isn’t covered.
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  38. You should be able to get this information online from your insurance company.
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  39. What did your insurance cover?
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  40.  @jdfan0121  WRONG! The 20% copay is based on the negotiated rate, not the CHARGED rate! At least for in network charges.
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  41.  @archerpence  no, he was the SMART ONE!
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  42. So apparently you don’t pay taxes.
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  43. And therefore it is the BEST medical system.
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  44.  @jenkinseric2  better than mediocre service for all. And it’s not a “small percentage”.
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  45. And she was able to determine that just by looking at you?
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  46. HOSPITAL BILL last month for gallbladder removal was $71k, but because I was RESPONSIBLE and had medical insurance, my out of pocket expenses was less than $1,000.
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  47. Setup a long term payment plan. Your costs shouldn’t be that great unless you were irresponsible and chose not to get medical insurance.
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  48. That might be difficult to do if a patient comes in unconscious or in an incoherent state.
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  49. Just because he doesn’t know what the doctor did doesn’t mean that the doctor didn’t do anything.
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  50.  @heroslippy6666  The point is that your friend had no clue what the doctor did. The doctor reviewed his “chart” to make sure that he was making a good recovery. If he wasn’t, a treatment plan would have been developed. It’s a good thing that there was minimal interaction with that doctor
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  51. Did you contact the VA?
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  52. The nursing care is included with the hospital costs, but the physician services are not because the level of their services depends on the individual patient.
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  53. Learn how to write.
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  54. That makes things more expensive and much more complicated.
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  55. So exactly how much do you pay for that and how long does it take to have a CT scan done?
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  56.  @need100k  no, but don’t you first get verbal approval?!?
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  57. No, medical school and high tech hospital equipment costs a lot.
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  58.  @litigioussociety4249  what?!? Why should the HOSPITAL be paying for patients’ doctors?!? The HOSPITAL COSTS are for the room and food. Anything BEYOND THAT is the responsibility of the PATIENT!!!
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  59.  @heroslippy6666  no, if all of the contracted providers had to use the hospital billing system, the it would result in added work and costs and time, and if the patient had a billing question, they would have to call hospital billing, ask the question, then hospital billing would have to call the contractor, relay the message, get a response, then relay the response back to the patient, who would then say “that’s not what I asked”, then the whole thing starts over. You are billed by the office that provides the services. That makes sense to me.
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  60.  @megalodon1726  that’s what happens, and the hospital charges for the operating ROOM, and the doctor charges the patient for the SURGERY!
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  61. Just ERs
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  62. It actually hast the BEST RESULTS, it just costs a lot.
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  63. Yes, doctors actually get paid to do their jobs.
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  64. That adds complexity and makes it much more difficult to dispute or question a bill since you now have an additional source that bills on the behalf of others.
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  65. And other things would get much worse.
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  66. The healthCARE in the US is second to none. PAYING for it is another issue. That’s what medical INSURANCE is for.
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  67. Have fun paying your taxes, waiting for medical service, and being locked down.
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  68.  @allaboutroofing2  reading the comment, it DID INCLUDE the surgery. It included the anesthesiologist, the doctor, the OR costs, multiple days in the hospital, and numerous other doctors visits.
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  69. And as a result , they have crappy healthcare.
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  70.  @EvilVacuum  free at POS is the WORST way to go because it ENCOURAGES WASTE! The US subsidies the rest of the world by paying high prices. If we paid the same as other nations, then big pharma wouldn’t like that, and since they control Congress, that won’t happen.
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  71.  @EvilVacuum  so the US is left being solely responsible for subsidizing the rest of the world’s healthcare. Nice
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  72. You absolutely CAN refuse treatment, and even LEAVE at anytime (unless someone can get a court order to restrain you)!
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  73. No, what you get CHARGED at the point of service is zero. The actual cost is infinitely more.
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  74. Sounds like you have crappy insurance.
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  75. It sounds like you need to get BETTER INSURANCE, or stop complaining!
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  76.  @Runco990  so you don’t have medical insurance? Your fault!!!!
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  77.  @silaskuemmerle2505  but I’m on a fixed income.
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  78.  @silaskuemmerle2505  a couple of options here: 1. Get a BETTER JOB, 2. Get ANOTHER JOB.
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  79. Just got out of the hospital and my (PRE insurance) charge for acetaminophen was TEN CENTS EACH!!!! STOP SPREADING LIES!!!!!
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  80. Your yoga is free range?
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  81. The hospital charges the RETAIL PRICE, and the hospital has dozens of contracts with various insurance companies.
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  82. Scene? $2000? Idiot. My charges for this were around $200, insurance negotiated down to about $120, with me paying 20% of that. This is from a TEAL experience last month.
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  83. Get insurance.
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  84. Exactly, that’s why responsible people have medical insurance.
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  85. A CT scanner costs over a million dollars just to purchase. Annual maintenance costs are probably around $100k per year, then you have technician training, and radiologist “reading” costs. I at least also have contrast media pumped into me. The hospital bill was obviously high to cover the costs for people without insurance, but these are amazing machines that can image your insides with great detail.
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  86. Learn how to write.
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  87. So how long from the call to getting to getting to the hospital? The burdened labor costs for the two people in the ambulance alone would easily be $200. Not to mention having to pay those people for WAITING for the call. The ambulance probably cost around $500,000. You amortize that across 10 years, along with maintenance, station, and supply costs, and $550 is quite a bargain.
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  88.  @huckelbarry1867  just a hobby, but I like calling out ignorant people like you. You know that if you can’t write even basic English, that maybe whatever you do “write” (and I use that term very loosely) loses any possible credibility that you may have otherwise had.
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  89. So how much do you (or people that actually earn a decent wage) pay for your medical care.
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  90. That’s what insurance is for. Imagine paying for two people to sit around in a building and waiting for a call to get into their $500,000 ambulance so that they can get to you in a few minutes, provide emergency medical care, and transport you to a hospital. $1000 for that is a real bargain.
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  91. Maybe you can spend $1/2 million on medical school and then just volunteer your services for the rest of your life.
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  92. The $ goes IN FRONT OF THE NUMBER, not AFTER the number. Example: $10 and $40. Didn’t you learn this in elementary school.
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  93. Always get an upfront treatment plan cost.
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  94. Because they want to get paid? Maybe you should consider all of the overhead expenses, the biggest of which is malpractice insurance.
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  95.  @skipstalforce  they don’t need to see you in order to do their job. Your “chart” is reviewed daily by a physician (usually a hospitalist) to determine if you are getting better or worse, and if it is worse, then they assess the situation and try to determine the best treatment options. Although YOU may not see them, that is irrelevant. Maybe you were sleeping when they came by…do you want them to wake you up if you are making satisfactorily progress in recovering?
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  96. Just got out of the hospital. The bill (BEFORE insurance) for 2 Tylenol was TWENTY CENTS!!! STOP PROPAGATING THESE LIES!!!!
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  97.  @macoediv  maybe it’s about transparency. I’m guessing that the hospital was REQUIRED to send me the itemized list. Hopefully this price gouging is a thing of the past.
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  98. Go to a different doctor then. The doctor has a CONTRACT with the medical insurance company, therefore any waiver would be null and void.
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  99. Then healthcare costs would skyrocket even more.
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  100. So did you not EVER provide your insurance information?
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  101. Yes, in the US we can CHOOSE health insurance coverage options AND cost based on ON INDIVIDUAL NEEDS AND RISKS! We can even choose (just recently) to NOT have insurance and therefore NOT PAY ANYTHING. We are NOT FORCED to pay for OTHERS healthcare through MANDATORY TAXES. If that seems strange to you, then I would recommend that you never come here.
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  102. You should have taken off your jacket BEFORE going to the ER. And was that really ER worthy?
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  103. Learn how to write.
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  104. Maybe they shouldn’t have bothered checking on him, and then find that he died in the meantime.
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  105. I think that you are making that up. I was able to get as many warm blankets as I wanted for no extra charge.
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  106. Can you elaborate on that?
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  107. Is this consistent with your medical insurance policy? If so, you chose/accepted that insurance. No one to blame but yourself.
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  108. My insurance covers urgent care facilities that are in network. A flat fee of I think $30.
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  109. Not everything is curable.
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  110. That’s a matter of practice.
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  111. Same with me. I refused to pay for it.
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  112. So the physician sent lab-work tons non network lab JUST TO HAVE YOU PAY $200?
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  113. @adeline rojas LACK of insurance is an even greater problem.
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  114. @adeline rojas insurance works to reduce the direct cost of medical care, but doing so results in a lot of extra expenses within the insurance company (primarily labor) that is passed off to the customers. This in turn increases healthcare costs.
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  115. Don’t confuse healthCARE with insurance!!! Healthcare in the US is outstanding, PAYING for it is really convoluted.
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  116. The competition is determined through the insurance companies.
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  117. You get good healthcare insurance.
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  118. Look into other health insurance.
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  119. How much did your insurance cover?
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  120.  @williambarkenbush3915  I would recommend getting better insurance in the future. I realize that the specific insurance that you choose is a gamble, but you obviously saved on the cost for that particular insurance.
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  121. As long as you don’t need any medical care, that’s awesome.
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  122. What RIGHT are you talking about?
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  123. Maybe there is a difference in accuracy.
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  124. The healthCARE system is the best in the world, however PAYING for it is really complicated.
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  125. So you never paid taxes?
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  126. YEAH, you have INSURANCE but like every other insurance, you have to pay deductibles and you have cost-sharing so that the people USING the system MORE pay MORE. That makes TOTAL SENSE!!!
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  127. Since the networks only apply to insurance companies, this law is irrelevant for people without insurance. What the heck could you possibly be thinking?!?
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  128. Learn how to write.
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  129. I had free Wi-Fi in the hospital, what more do you need?
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  130.  @mikeslater6246  I’m sorry that your fingers have been amputated
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  131.  @mikeslater6246  it’s a natural thing but it is fueled by reading ignorant comments.
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  132.  @bahjinelson3986  I had my gallbladder removed last month. I went to my insurance website and downloaded a summary of all of the individual bills along with how much I owed for each. As the individual bills come in, I verify the costs on the spreadsheet and annotate when and how I paid them. Not too much different from “balancing your checkbook” or making sure that your credit card charges are correct and legitimate.
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  133.  @bahjinelson3986  right, I keep checking to see if there are any late bills, but I really think that everyone wants their money as soon as possible.
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  134. Yet you were still paying for the insurance since nothing is free. Did you have a job? Then you paid for Medicare.
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  135. I’m sure that your fellow countryman paid for your charge.
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  136.  @j1952d  did your taxes also pay for all of your food and lodging expenses?
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  137. Say that when one saves your life.
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  138. So how do you think that the hospital could predict that you would have a cardiac arrest during a procedure? Can they predict how much blood you are going to require or how long that you will be in surgery?
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  139. And healthcare goes to $hit.
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  140.  @petekaiser8856  no, really
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  141. Why didn’t your insurance cover anything?
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  142.  @profwaynewsmith  you probably don’t earn much then.
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  143.  @jblyon2  someone please send a link that clearly shows how much people of various income levels pay in Canada. I’m sure that I would be paying more to take care of others.
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  144. Since you are using a double negative, you are basically saying you want what the insurance WON’T cover. Maybe they felt sorry for your ignorance.
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  145. The surgeons don’t work for the hospital. Forcing all of the contracted services to be paid through the hospital billing system would cost more and be even worse.
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  146. That’s not how it works
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  147.  @danquaylesitsspeltpotatoe8307  troll
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  148.  @danquaylesitsspeltpotatoe8307  but over 50 court cases HAVE.
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  149. How much did your insurance cover? Interesting that just last month, I DROVE from one ER to another.
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  150.  @MarkSmith-eq5is  so you paid $200. Was the ambulance already there or did they have to come to you? Two people? How long were these two people “waiting” for a call while they were getting paid? How much do you think that an ambulance costs to buy and maintain versus the number of calls that they get to cover all of these expenses? $1000 seems like a bargain to me.
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  151. That’s the responsible thing to do, otherwise, like you implied, you can file for bankruptcy.
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  152. The hospital DOES provide a bill for the services, with the exception of the surgical costs, which are billed by the SURGEONS. Most car shops have a mechanical side and an auto body side, each of which charge separately.
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  153. Get better insurance
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