Does this medical bill seem a little high to you?

A few weeks ago I hopped into the emergency room of our local hospital with an ankle I badly sprained in a jogging accident. At the time I did not have health insurance. A doctor examined my foot for less than 5 minutes, then they gave me an x-ray to make sure it was only a sprain, then a nurse wrapped my lower leg in a splint, then the doctor saw me for just long enough to write me a prescription (which I never filled because I just don't like pain killers), then they gave me some crutches and sent me out the door. Whole process took about half an hour. A couple of days ago I finally got the bill in the mail:

$1007.85

I haven't been to the hospital since I was a kid (and then I didn't pay my own bills) so I don't really know what the going rates are these days, but this just seems a little high to me.

Is this a reasonable bill for the treatment I received?

But I think that is typical. Medical costs for people without insurance are criminally high.

over $1200 for a trip to the ER for an asthma attack. Three breathing treatments, a pill, and shot...3 hours in the little room.

They keep calling me wanting the money (that I just don't have). They remind me every time that this is hitting my credit. Like I give a damn.

However, if you call them, you can negotiate the cost down by at least 10 percent. You can also set up a payment plan with most places.

Plead poverty, no health insurance, be the drama queen I'm sure you have deep within you (wink), and you'll save $$$.

Good luck.

I've been to family doctors for checkups and minor stuff that I've paid for out of my own pocket, and they spend twice as much time with me and only charge me a couple hundred at the most. Why should the ER be so much higher? I don't get it.

the itemization info, I can probably help you to call their collections dept and whittle it down.

If they took two views of the ankle (which would be standard) that should be about 70.00

Acute care doc visit MAXIMUM should not be more than 170.00 if billed at the HIGHEST level.

The splint at the HIGHEST level of compensation would not be more than 75.00 if it was just fiberglass.

A couple ace bandages 10 bucks each in hospital prices.

Crutches 50.00



Ask them to send you an itemized bill with the actual billing codes and I will break it down.

Even if there was MORE involved, the most it should be is 700.00.

I think they are billing you for a half day in the ER.

You should be able to get that adjusted.

All I have is a cover page with the amount due. I'll have to call them tomorrow to see if they can give me a breakdown again.

ER's duplicate charges all the time...if you are prepared to be a bit pushy, you can get it down considerably.

I'll definitely call them and get to the bottom of this tomorrow.

you have to call them and ASK for it. I just received a bill for $849 that should have been covered in full. There was nothing on the bill indicating what this was for, so I called accounts receivable and asked for an itemized bill to see what my insurance had't covered.

It seems crazy,but you have to ASK for an itemized bill when they should send you one in the first place. :shrug:

I have to have surgery. They gave me crutches made in China so they must be worth at least $200. Lots of pain shots unitl it was fixed and a temporary cast. Thankfully I have good medical insurance plan through NY State employees. I get charged $349 for blood work done at the hospital (they contract out) but my insurance pays for it. My guess is the x-rays added to a big chunk in your bill. Here all the hospitals have this arrangement with Dr's who contract to read them and provided the service. They used to charge us for those.

Based on my past experiences with emergency room visits, it sounds like your bill is par for the course, maybe even a little on the low side. When I broke my foot a few of years ago, the ER bill was in the $1500 range, and that didn't include the cast.

Hope your ankle is feeling better!

I worked at a shmucks house that owns medical corporations, lives in Malibu and has to drive around his estate on a golf cart,he gets about 900 bucks from your bill. Ah neocons ........

which turned out to just be stress and too much caffeine.

But they did one chest x-ray, a blood sugar test, and some blood work. Add that to 3 hours in a bed hooked up to a monitor and you get a bill for $2000 plus a prescription for Motrin. Thank god for insurance though! I ended up paying $400 in all.

It was $45 just for them to prick my finger and read a number from the monitor!

include the physicians fees (the ER doc, and the radiologist).

Find out this first by calling the hospital or waitng for additional bills. After you get the itemized breakdown (as mentioned above), post the billing codes and your area (northeast, west, etc.), and we should be able to help you get that down significantly (like 50%+).

fees for the radiologist reading the xray nor for the ER doctor, especially if he/she is not a hospital employee.

You have to understand that it's all those whizzy 21st century treatments (like ace bandages and crutches) that have caused medical costs to spiral out of sight.

Just think of the cost if you'd actually bought the painkiller (a brand name, I presume, and not a slightly-less-runious generic?).

...ask them to defend why you should be charged more just because you don't have insurance coverage.