I recently had a routine surgery and spent 1 night in a local hospital. The hospital’s bill almost beat me home. For the use of the operating room (1 hour), recovery room (1 hour), and the overnight stay I was billed $15,000. The surgeon and anesthesiologist billed me separately.
Just about 3 years ago I went into the emergency room and ended up spending 8 days in ICU. Had a couple of surgeries, good pain drugs, and some really really pretty nurses (although that might have been the drugs). I guess I stopped breathing during surgery and most of my organs started shutting down.
Bill was $185,000 before insurance. They saved my life. I find that a fair trade.