3 ms·

I had a near miss with MS 8 years ago. Several MRIs, spinal taps, blood work, etc. Before insurance: about $25k. After insurance: $3k. Double hernia surgery wa

by fixxer 13y ago

I had a near miss with MS 8 years ago. Several MRIs, spinal taps, blood work, etc. Before insurance: about $25k. After insurance: $3k. Double hernia surgery was a couple grand out of pocket. Not all insurance is the same.$34k is robbery.

GFischer 13y ago
Let's put it this way: 34 k would pay for the original poster's trip to my country (Uruguay), the best treatment available, and he'd have money left over - heck, 34 k would probably pay the doctor's wages on that hospital for a year. There are very dodgy and shady costs with US healthcare. I have the very best healthcare available in my country (Hospital Británico). It costs U$ 150 per month. A kidney stone would probably run me in the hundreds of dollars. 3k would probably bankrupt me. http://www.hospitalbritanico.org.uy http://www.hospitalbritanico.org.uy Some differences are that doctors in the U.S. are paid an order of magnitude more, and I've heard hospitals have legions of well-paid administrators doing paperwork for insurance companies, which will have legions of people doing paperwork on their side, and government doing its bit, and lawyers doing their thing. All that money is obviously not going directly into healthcare, it's basically bureaucracy friction. I suspect "real" healthcare costs, even factoring expensive U.S. doctors, would be shockingly cheap.
- fixxer 13y ago
  I don't disagree. Tell me something: Suppose you go in to get your left kidney removed, but the doc removes the right one by accident. What are your options? Law suit? What would you expect to get in settlement?
  - FireBeyond 13y ago
    I'd expect in most places you'd get damages, and most likely the costs for the ensuing transplant (after all, you were needing to remove the left kidney for a reason, so now you have no other option).
- ensignavenger 13y ago
  Your doctors only earn 34k a year?
  - GFischer 13y ago
    That's per hospital, and for a non-surgeon, a doctor on average works on 3 or 4 hospitals, so he would make about 140k per year (among the highest paid in my country). Surgeons and anesthetists are on a class of their own, they make upwards of 60k per hospital.
ensignavenger 13y ago
Have you been able to negotiate a reduction in your bills?

by fixxer 13y ago

GFischer 13y ago

Let's put it this way: 34 k would pay for the original poster's trip to my country (Uruguay), the best treatment available, and he'd have money left over - heck, 34 k would probably pay the doctor's wages on that hospital for a year. There are very dodgy and shady costs with US healthcare. I have the very best healthcare available in my country (Hospital Británico). It costs U$ 150 per month. A kidney stone would probably run me in the hundreds of dollars. 3k would probably bankrupt me. http://www.hospitalbritanico.org.uy http://www.hospitalbritanico.org.uy Some differences are that doctors in the U.S. are paid an order of magnitude more, and I've heard hospitals have legions of well-paid administrators doing paperwork for insurance companies, which will have legions of people doing paperwork on their side, and government doing its bit, and lawyers doing their thing. All that money is obviously not going directly into healthcare, it's basically bureaucracy friction. I suspect "real" healthcare costs, even factoring expensive U.S. doctors, would be shockingly cheap.

fixxer 13y ago
I don't disagree. Tell me something: Suppose you go in to get your left kidney removed, but the doc removes the right one by accident. What are your options? Law suit? What would you expect to get in settlement?
- FireBeyond 13y ago
  I'd expect in most places you'd get damages, and most likely the costs for the ensuing transplant (after all, you were needing to remove the left kidney for a reason, so now you have no other option).
ensignavenger 13y ago
Your doctors only earn 34k a year?
- GFischer 13y ago
  That's per hospital, and for a non-surgeon, a doctor on average works on 3 or 4 hospitals, so he would make about 140k per year (among the highest paid in my country). Surgeons and anesthetists are on a class of their own, they make upwards of 60k per hospital.

ensignavenger 13y ago

Have you been able to negotiate a reduction in your bills?