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What raised eyebrows, though, was Fassler's hospital bill — all $153,000 of it. KGTV reporter Dan Haggerty shared it on Twitter.
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Sunday, August 28, 2016
This $153,000 rattlesnake bite is everything wrong with American health care
What raised eyebrows, though, was Fassler's hospital bill — all $153,000 of it. KGTV reporter Dan Haggerty shared it on Twitter.
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For 5 days of INTENSIVE LEVEL CARE including what was probably a significant amount of antivenin...which is
ReplyDeleteexpensive 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.
unless of course you'd rather risk death or loss of a limb
DeleteThe article mentions that one person refused service because he didn't have the money and later died.
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.
DeleteDan, 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.
DeleteHe's not got insurance, it would seem? 0 payments/adjustments?
ReplyDeleteI've heard they tend to go after people like that and jack the prices...
They virtually never get what they charge,
DeleteNote, 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.
ReplyDeleteIt will certainly go down, but I don't believe that much considering the cost of the antivenin.
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Get the government out of everything
EVERYTHING, it is!
we need single payer healthcare like Switzerland and Germany
ReplyDeleteAlong with a full blown commie government too, correct....? :)
DeleteCan you imagine what it would have been if Hitlery Clinton bit him?
ReplyDeleteHa! :)
DeleteVietnam has many poisonous snakes, actually all of Asia does.
ReplyDeleteDid 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.
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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