Sunday, August 28, 2016

This $153,000 rattlesnake bite is everything wrong with American health care

Dated

Earlier this month a guy named Todd Fassler was bitten by a rattlesnake in San Diego, KGTV San Diego reports. In itself this isn't terribly unusual — the CDC estimates that roughly 7,000 to 8,000 people a year get bitten by a venomous snake in the United States. And somewhere between five and six people die from these bites each year.

What raised eyebrows, though, was Fassler's hospital bill — all $153,000 of it. KGTV reporter Dan Haggerty shared it on Twitter.

14 comments:

  1. For 5 days of INTENSIVE LEVEL CARE including what was probably a significant amount of antivenin...which is
    expensive because it's difficult to produce....the bill
    is not outrageous. Especially when you consider that the
    typical hospital in Southern California only collects AT
    BEST 20 cents of every dollar billed. So when you only get
    20% payment in order to stay in business you must raise your
    prices....by at least 500%. End EMTALA, rein in frivolous
    lawsuits and make EVERYONE pay for their own care and the costs would be much much less. But even so modern healthcare is expensive for a reason. If you don't like it you can always refuse to go to the ER and seek out a holistic
    practicioner....or the village witch doctor and see how well you fare. $153K is a lot.....unless of course you'd rather risk death or loss of a limb. Then it's a bargain.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. unless of course you'd rather risk death or loss of a limb

      The article mentions that one person refused service because he didn't have the money and later died.

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    2. Dan, I worked in a major medical center for about a decade. What I saw across the board was increasing costs amid lower patient caring. It seemed that the greatest effort made there was passing JACHO inspections, avoiding malpractice lawsuits, and never being exposed to the Press for wrongful death or injury. Where patient care fits into all this, I wasn't able to determine.

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    3. Dan, I worked in a major medical center for about a decade. What I saw across the board was increasing costs amid lower patient caring. It seemed that the greatest effort made there was passing JACHO inspections, avoiding malpractice lawsuits, and never being exposed to the Press for wrongful death or injury. Where patient care fits into all this, I wasn't able to determine.

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  2. He's not got insurance, it would seem? 0 payments/adjustments?
    I've heard they tend to go after people like that and jack the prices...

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  3. Note, this is the gross bill. If the guy has insurance, the final payment will be about $20,000 and the rest goes away. Still in all it is stupid. The reason this happens is, guess what? The government. This is the way that you keep pressure on the insurance companies and government to continue to adjust payments higher rather than lower. Get the government out of everything, price of drugs, medical care, college and life will go down.

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    Replies
    1. It will certainly go down, but I don't believe that much considering the cost of the antivenin.

      ===================

      Get the government out of everything

      EVERYTHING, it is!

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  4. we need single payer healthcare like Switzerland and Germany

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    Replies
    1. Along with a full blown commie government too, correct....? :)

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  5. Can you imagine what it would have been if Hitlery Clinton bit him?

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  6. Vietnam has many poisonous snakes, actually all of Asia does.
    Did you encounter this problem or others in your platoon
    or the locals? I read if one is to visit Asia, to bring
    anti-venom with them. How one gets it thru the airport so-
    called security I don't know - it is a regular check point.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have been back to Vietnam countless times since 1992 and hadn't even thought of this, but I don't think there would be a problem unless you were hiking in the boondocks. I go back in November, by the way. I assume you are thinking of visiting sometime.......?

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