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A comment on The ER charged him $6,589.77 for 6 stitches, cost that led his wife to avoid ER. Parent comment

Re:The ER charged him $6,589.77 for 6 stitches, cost that le... by nameunimportant on Saturday November 20, 2021 @08:15AM (#29287793)
When I got my tonsils removed my options were the $75k surgery at the private hospital, or waiting 3 months at the public hospital. I actually stopped consulting and took a job so that I could get insurance, and had the surgery two weeks later.

A few years back I broke my wrist while bicycling across England. I was patched up and casted a few hours later, I think the bill was about $200, as a foreign tourist. It wasn't even enough to cover my travel insurance deductible. This would have cost me about $5k in the USA.

I agree that the free market works fine, for those who run the market.

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Re:The ER charged him $6,589.77 for 6 stitches, cost that le... by trixie_ on Saturday November 20, 2021 @08:31AM (#29287895)
The free market didn’t make your operation 75k. The government giving a blank check to hospitals and the lack of price transparency did that. Both are as far from the ‘free market’ as you can get.
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Re:The ER charged him $6,589.77 for 6 stitches, cost that le... by nameunimportant on Sunday November 21, 2021 @10:51AM (#29297063)
Sure, whatever. Shit doesn't happen in socialized countries. The only libertarian countries that ever exist are that short vacuum of power when a banana republic dictator fails and the new warlords haven't chosen a new dictator. But yeah, sure, can't criticize something that doesn't exist. Good argument strategy.
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Re:The ER charged him $6,589.77 for 6 stitches, cost that le... by chrisseaton on Saturday November 20, 2021 @08:50AM (#29288038)
Weren’t your tonsils a pre-existing condition? How did the new insurance cover it?
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Re:The ER charged him $6,589.77 for 6 stitches, cost that le... by nameunimportant on Sunday November 21, 2021 @10:47AM (#29297027)
I lied to my doctor to an extent, and he lied to the insurance company to an extent.

All you have to do is ask a doctor "Please don't put any of this in a file until I have insurance next week". It doesn't mean anything to him to add the dates later. It's in his best interest, otherwise he won't get the cheddar.

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