4 ms·

The hospital and the doctors. Almost $500 for a tetanus shot is simply not justifiable

ceejayoz 5y ago
The doctors likely have nothing to do with how much procedures bill for. In private practice outside a hospital, they perhaps have more guilt here, but in an ER? They set the prices about as much as the janitors do.
- CalChris 5y ago
  Doctors are acutely aware of how much which procedures bill for.
- otagekki 5y ago
  Yet they still charged roughly $2,000 for a single patient and that is something that did not take the whole day. If I was a physician I'd be happy if I could bill half that amount even if it took me the whole day to treat the patient
- legutierr 5y ago
  I've had doctors in the ER bill directly out of their own practice several times. Out of network, but I've had no choice in the matter except to receive treatment or refuse treatment for life-threatening conditions. The law here has changed since then to prohibit this kind of thing, though.
  - learc83 5y ago
    In the case where an ER doctor isn’t employed by the hospital, they are likely employed by a physicians’s group. These used to be ran by physicians, but now many of them have been bought up and consolidated by private equity. The doctors likely have very little say in the pricing.
    - legutierr 5y ago
      Perhaps, but in these specific cases I was billed by offices owned by individual doctors.
- soneca 5y ago
  The article mentions an accusation that doctors are “upcoding” procedures to be able to charge more.
  - JshWright 5y ago
    The doctors likely aren't the ones coding the visit. That is often done by separate back-office staff (especially in case like this, where the physician is working for a medical staffing company). Most medical practices employee (or outsource) medical "coders" whose job it is to take the notes written by the doctor and determine which procedure codes should be applied (which then determine what gets billed for)
- maxerickson 5y ago
  They consent to work in that environment. Which hey, I'm glad they are there, but it also isn't "nothing to do with" it.
wil421 5y ago
I had a tetanus shot 2 years ago and it was not anywhere close to $500. Not even sure if I paid $50. My flu shot was free last month.

The doctors likely have nothing to do with how much procedures bill for. In private practice outside a hospital, they perhaps have more guilt here, but in an ER? They set the prices about as much as the janitors do.

CalChris 5y ago
Doctors are acutely aware of how much which procedures bill for.
otagekki 5y ago
Yet they still charged roughly $2,000 for a single patient and that is something that did not take the whole day. If I was a physician I'd be happy if I could bill half that amount even if it took me the whole day to treat the patient
legutierr 5y ago
I've had doctors in the ER bill directly out of their own practice several times. Out of network, but I've had no choice in the matter except to receive treatment or refuse treatment for life-threatening conditions. The law here has changed since then to prohibit this kind of thing, though.
- learc83 5y ago
  In the case where an ER doctor isn’t employed by the hospital, they are likely employed by a physicians’s group. These used to be ran by physicians, but now many of them have been bought up and consolidated by private equity. The doctors likely have very little say in the pricing.
  - legutierr 5y ago
    Perhaps, but in these specific cases I was billed by offices owned by individual doctors.
soneca 5y ago
The article mentions an accusation that doctors are “upcoding” procedures to be able to charge more.
- JshWright 5y ago
  The doctors likely aren't the ones coding the visit. That is often done by separate back-office staff (especially in case like this, where the physician is working for a medical staffing company). Most medical practices employee (or outsource) medical "coders" whose job it is to take the notes written by the doctor and determine which procedure codes should be applied (which then determine what gets billed for)
maxerickson 5y ago
They consent to work in that environment. Which hey, I'm glad they are there, but it also isn't "nothing to do with" it.

wil421 5y ago

I had a tetanus shot 2 years ago and it was not anywhere close to $500. Not even sure if I paid $50. My flu shot was free last month.