OT: Hospital costs

I'll preface this with the fact that I have worked in healthcare for more than 30 years.

Earlier this week I had a Reclast infusion at the hospital's outpatient infusion center. I sat in a chair in a room for about a hour and a half wrapped up in my own sweater and brought my own bottle of water.

The nurse started an IV (I showed her which vein to use) and I had the medication infused over 30 minutes. During that time, the automatic BP cuff took my blood pressure twice. My IV was discontinued and I was on my way.

My insurance was billed $8500!!! My self pay hospital bill for my open DS revision was only $17,500. There's something wrong with this picture!!

Just venting,

just makes you wonder how they come up with the total cost of medical expenses.  who approves these costs and thinks it's ok?  makes sense why health insurance is so damn expensive.

Yes, that is crazy high.  I am comforted by the fact that it is the high, BS rate though, that is usually not really collected.  Normally, when you see your explanation of benefits later after your insurance has paid its part, it will show the contracted rate between the hospital and insurance is way lower than the list price.  Or, a self-pay patient can arrange beforehand a negotiated discount rate for paying in cash in advance.

Yes, I know how it goes, but it makes me angry. Several years ago, at that hospital, I was in for 36 hours with a bladder suspension, uncomplicated. The initial billing was for over $80,000. The final bill the insurance paid was right around $8000.

Yes, I am mad about it, too.

My son's cir****cision was $3300.00. They don't offer by much of the way of pain medication, so it's not like theres an any real drug costs.His "rooming" was 9K. By room I mean the little clear bed they put the newborns in that is wheeled around the maternity ward. This was actually what insurance paid, not the BS charge. Ive only seen the BS charges on physician visits, on my EOB's for hospitalizations, there is only the one set of amounts listed. He was born really large hospital in a really large city...from what I understand the costs in large cities really affect the cost of medical expenses....

That's crazy.

I work in healtcare too. All I can say is, INSANE !!!