This blog is for the Global Poverty and Practice 105 course. Here you can share updates about your projects, news articles, other materials regarding our topics of confronting forms of poverty and inequality, and any other useful links (ex: fellowships). The primary purpose of this sharing of information via blogging is to learn more about each other's work in a dynamic and engaging way, and to be able to share important, interesting and innovative ideas and resources.
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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