Re:A Kid, a Minor Bike Accident and a $19,000 Medical Bill
by hnlmorg on Thursday November 26, 2020 @07:42AM
(#25219496)
> $19k is the cost for the US stitches and anesthesia.
No it's not. $19k is what that hospital arbitrarily chose to charge for stitches and anaesthesia. What it actually cost the hospital was significantly less. Several orders of magnitude less I'd wager.
The fact that the insurer was able to negotiate a payment of ~36% (less than half the original price) and the hospital still had enough margin to be profitable should be telling.
> I'm not a fan of this system but it works. Isn't the US the #1 medical care quality country?
No. Not even remotely. It's 36th in the world as ranked by WHO. It is, however, ranked #1 in the world for the most expensive healthcare system. And by some margin too. I don't consider that a placement to be proud about either.
No it's not. $19k is what that hospital arbitrarily chose to charge for stitches and anaesthesia. What it actually cost the hospital was significantly less. Several orders of magnitude less I'd wager.
The fact that the insurer was able to negotiate a payment of ~36% (less than half the original price) and the hospital still had enough margin to be profitable should be telling.
> I'm not a fan of this system but it works. Isn't the US the #1 medical care quality country?
No. Not even remotely. It's 36th in the world as ranked by WHO. It is, however, ranked #1 in the world for the most expensive healthcare system. And by some margin too. I don't consider that a placement to be proud about either.