I never even knew that Mr. Mxyzptlk went to med school.
Posted on 09/22/2014 12:10:28 PM PDT by Lorianne
Before his three-hour neck surgery for herniated disks in December, Peter Drier, 37, signed a pile of consent forms. A bank technology manager who had researched his insurance coverage, Mr. Drier was prepared when the bills started arriving: $56,000 from Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan, $4,300 from the anesthesiologist and even $133,000 from his orthopedist, who he knew would accept a fraction of that fee.
He was blindsided, though, by a bill of about $117,000 from an “assistant surgeon,” a Queens-based neurosurgeon whom Mr. Drier did not recall meeting.
In operating rooms and on hospital wards across the country, physicians and other health providers typically help one another in patient care. But in an increasingly common practice that some medical experts call drive-by doctoring, assistants, consultants and other hospital employees are charging patients or their insurers hefty fees. They may be called in when the need for them is questionable. And patients usually do not realize they have been involved or are charging until the bill arrives.
The practice increases revenue for physicians and other health care workers at a time when insurers are cutting down reimbursement for many services. The surprise charges can be especially significant because, as in Mr. Drier’s case, they may involve out-of-network providers who bill 20 to 40 times the usual local rates and often collect the full amount, or a substantial portion.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
He was blindsided, though, by a bill of about $117,000 from an “assistant surgeon,”
All the informed consent of
..... the American people to ObamaCARE/DeathCARE.
The greatest healthcare in the world isn’t cheap.
“He blinded me with non-rocket science! “ (And it wasn’t brain surgery, either ;)
‘Reminds me of the odd co-pay for Dr. Mxyzptlk you’ll see on the insurance bill when you’re in the hospital for some procedure… Everyone wants a piece of the 3rd-party insurance pie.
Simply don’t pay it, go to court and demand a full jury trial.
Your not kidding. $39,000 an hour. Assuming he worked the entire 3 hours.
The average neurosurgeon takes home $368,000 a year. So he must be on the 3 surgeries and done plan.
Your not kidding. $39,000 an hour. Assuming he worked the entire 3 hours.
The average neurosurgeon takes home $368,000 a year. So he must be on the 3 surgeries and done plan.
Kinda seems like getting your car repaired, then getting a bill from a garage across town that you didn’t take your car to.
I could live on that.
Another “healthcare providers are EEEEEVIL, so let’s just go Single Payer” propaganda piece.
I think this is a bogus article. I am a physician and know of NO procedure that cost that much NONE ,ZIPPA ,NOT””” The article is misleading PERIOD.
Same thing happened to me three months ago. A “thoracic surgeon” spent about 5 minutes post-op. Talked to my wife not me. Nice suit, business cards to all family attending, never examined or laid a hand on me. Hefty bill afterward.
TC
But the greedy hospitals signed onto Obamacare when they were promised that the “free care” portion of their business would disappear. Somehow they thought that the overburdened and unaffordable health care system we already have would magically come up with more money for them.
However, once the government takes over the health-care system, the first thing they will go after is the costs. And the hospitals won't like THAT very much, the suckers.
Having a wife that is a stroke survivor, let’s say we are frequent users of medical services. I’ve never had much of a beef paying doctors, although I wish they had a frequent visitor discount sometimes...lol What hospitals charge, on the other hand, really does need to be addressed.
I never even knew that Mr. Mxyzptlk went to med school.
I guess that might be true but the $117,000 bill has nothing to do with Obamacare. "Drive-by doctoring" in the hospital setting has been getting worse and more blatant for many years.
I agree with you about the rate (price) quoted. However, the hidden professional fee billing routine is a time honored tradition. Anesthesiologists, CRNA's, Pathologists, Cardiologists, Radiologists, Consultants, folks you never see. Most of the billings and services are legitimate, but full disclosure about billing would prevent a lot of misunderstandings.
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