Monday, April 7, 2014

"Some Guy Posted His Hospital Bill Online. You’ll See Why Everyone’s Talking About It."


While browsing through Facebook one day, I came across this very short article about a health care case that went viral on the social media. The article talks about and shows images of the hospital bill (Sutter Health) of a young man who was hospitalized for appendicitis and had a appendectomy. The total charges were over $55,000 and his insurance covered about $44,000 of the cost. The man was left with about $11,000 that must be paid out of pocket. NYDailynews believed that the man was overcharged $45,000 for an appendectomy.

When I first saw the article, I was shocked and I couldn't believe that his bill could've been that high. I had to do more research just to make sure that the first article that I saw was not a satirical article created to attack the current issues around health care reform. To my surprise, I found credible sources and news articles that also talked about the case. I am questioning the factors that determine the amount of costs, whether they are for labor work or equipments. Even though they are laid out in the images, I still cannot wrap my head around its expense! This article definitely made me curious about how much dental health care and procedures actually cost; for example, how much does it cost to get your teeth extracted and does the cost vary on which tooth?

Here are some interesting comparisons made in the articles below:

1. He was asked to pay $16,277 for the appendectomy when according to the Health Care Blue Book, the average cost for an appendectomy is about $10,000.

2. He was charged $4,562 for anesthesia. Health Care Blue Book suggests that anesthesia should cost around $724.

3. The comparisons between the health care system in the US and other countries in the first article; citizens from other countries provide their health care experiences.

I included two different sources below.

http://twed.com/some-guy-posted-his-hospital-bill-online-youll-see-why-everyones-talking-about-it/

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/calif-man-overcharged-45-000-appendectomy-bill-article-1.1562988


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