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From: Ann on 29 Jan 2010 22:24
"American hospitals are fleecing patients out of billions of dollars
annually, and experts say that while some of the overcharges are
honest errors, many are deliberate.

That's because hospital bills are next to impossible for consumers to
understand, which means hospitals can hide improper charges behind
mysterious medical terminology and baffling codes. "
http://www.thirdage.com/general-money/how-to-avoid-outrageous-hospital-overcharges

"Suppose you got a bill for $5,000 for service that should have cost
$2,000? Stacy Johnson takes a look at what happens with many medical
bills.
When you're sick and need help, avoiding mistakes has to be near the
top of the priority list for the hospital.
But when it comes to giving you an accurate bill, hospitals are
apparently a bit more lax."
http://www.kktv.com/unclassified/2035602.html

"What percent of those mistakes favor the hospital? According to this
medical billing advocate, virtually all of them. But the biggest
problem? Just flat-out overcharging. Many hospitals will charge you
three or four times their cost. They make a big profit off of you. You
pay in order to protect your credit rating. Learn how you can fight
back and protect your credit."
http://www.hospitalvictims.com/


TAMPA, FL -- Being rushed to the hospital, or going to the hospital
for any type of medical procedure can become costly quick.

Sheralee Faith doesn't have medical insurance. She went to a central
Florida hospital emergency room after she bumped heads with her
Labrador and got a bloody nose.

"He said ok go home and take a Tylenol and you'll be fine," Faith
says. The bill for that trip to the ER amounted to $1,300.

"Patients are just shocked by the cost of their care," says medical
bill negotiator Dr. Jasper Becker.

Faith says she really didn't understand some of the charges on her
bill, so she called Becker, with Medical Bill Advocates of America.

"I can often convince the billing dept that they have made an error
in the billing," Becker says. It’s his job to negotiate down your bill
by looking for errors like double charging, over charging, or charging
patients for treatments hey never received.

"It was a level four ER visit which later I found out was a facial
contusion, a very serious condition. Later I also found out I was
charged for an IV which I did not receive and an X-ray which I did not
receive," Faith says.

In the end, Becker worked down Faith’s bill to just $100 dollars. He
says he's saved patients thousands of dollars, working one bill down
from $40,000 to $4,000.

"I don't think a person should pay any medical bills until they have
looked them over carefully and if they don't know what something means
go down and find out what something means,” Becker says.

And, that’s the doctor’s golden rule, never pay for a bill that you
don’t understand.
http://www.abcactionnews.com/mostpopular/story/Is-your-hospital-overcharging-you/kxWPb6Hs3EyQkwzSEDso9A.cspx
From: Rod Speed on 29 Jan 2010 22:53
Mine didnt. I didnt even get charged for the TV, the only thing I had to pay
for was for the newspaper and that wasnt paid to the hospital anyway.

Ann wrote:
> "American hospitals are fleecing patients out of billions of dollars
> annually, and experts say that while some of the overcharges are
> honest errors, many are deliberate.
>
> That's because hospital bills are next to impossible for consumers to
> understand, which means hospitals can hide improper charges behind
> mysterious medical terminology and baffling codes. "
> http://www.thirdage.com/general-money/how-to-avoid-outrageous-hospital-overcharges
>
> "Suppose you got a bill for $5,000 for service that should have cost
> $2,000? Stacy Johnson takes a look at what happens with many medical
> bills.
> When you're sick and need help, avoiding mistakes has to be near the
> top of the priority list for the hospital.
> But when it comes to giving you an accurate bill, hospitals are
> apparently a bit more lax."
> http://www.kktv.com/unclassified/2035602.html
>
> "What percent of those mistakes favor the hospital? According to this
> medical billing advocate, virtually all of them. But the biggest
> problem? Just flat-out overcharging. Many hospitals will charge you
> three or four times their cost. They make a big profit off of you. You
> pay in order to protect your credit rating. Learn how you can fight
> back and protect your credit."
> http://www.hospitalvictims.com/
>
>
> TAMPA, FL -- Being rushed to the hospital, or going to the hospital
> for any type of medical procedure can become costly quick.
>
> Sheralee Faith doesn't have medical insurance. She went to a central
> Florida hospital emergency room after she bumped heads with her
> Labrador and got a bloody nose.
>
> "He said ok go home and take a Tylenol and you'll be fine," Faith
> says. The bill for that trip to the ER amounted to $1,300.
>
> "Patients are just shocked by the cost of their care," says medical
> bill negotiator Dr. Jasper Becker.
>
> Faith says she really didn't understand some of the charges on her
> bill, so she called Becker, with Medical Bill Advocates of America.
>
> "I can often convince the billing dept that they have made an error
> in the billing," Becker says. It�s his job to negotiate down your bill
> by looking for errors like double charging, over charging, or charging
> patients for treatments hey never received.
>
> "It was a level four ER visit which later I found out was a facial
> contusion, a very serious condition. Later I also found out I was
> charged for an IV which I did not receive and an X-ray which I did not
> receive," Faith says.
>
> In the end, Becker worked down Faith�s bill to just $100 dollars. He
> says he's saved patients thousands of dollars, working one bill down
> from $40,000 to $4,000.
>
> "I don't think a person should pay any medical bills until they have
> looked them over carefully and if they don't know what something means
> go down and find out what something means,� Becker says.
>
> And, that�s the doctor�s golden rule, never pay for a bill that you
> don�t understand.
> http://www.abcactionnews.com/mostpopular/story/Is-your-hospital-overcharging-you/kxWPb6Hs3EyQkwzSEDso9A.cspx


From: Frito Pendejo on 30 Jan 2010 05:00
Ann wrote:
> "Suppose you got a bill for $5,000 for service that should have cost
> $2,000? Stacy Johnson takes a look at what happens with many medical
> bills.

The problem is that the consumer has no idea what a medical procedure
should cost, so is unable to challenge overbilling.

Unlike other consumer services, hospitals refuse to reveal the cost of a
given procedure beforehand. If you have no insurance coverage, you
might get an estimate AFTER you've paid for an examination, but this
precludes shopping around for the best price.

Instead of imposing national health care, the government could help
reduce medical costs by mandating pricing transparency, so that doctors
and hospitals would be forced to compete with each other for patients.
From: Leon Pietro on 30 Jan 2010 11:17
Ann wrote:
> "American hospitals are fleecing patients out of billions of dollars
> annually, and experts say that while some of the overcharges are
> honest errors, many are deliberate.
>
> That's because hospital bills are next to impossible for consumers to
> understand, which means hospitals can hide improper charges behind
> mysterious medical terminology and baffling codes. "
> http://www.thirdage.com/general-money/how-to-avoid-outrageous-hospital-overcharges
>
> "Suppose you got a bill for $5,000 for service that should have cost
> $2,000? Stacy Johnson takes a look at what happens with many medical
> bills.
> When you're sick and need help, avoiding mistakes has to be near the
> top of the priority list for the hospital.
> But when it comes to giving you an accurate bill, hospitals are
> apparently a bit more lax."
> http://www.kktv.com/unclassified/2035602.html
>
> "What percent of those mistakes favor the hospital? According to this
> medical billing advocate, virtually all of them. But the biggest
> problem? Just flat-out overcharging. Many hospitals will charge you
> three or four times their cost. They make a big profit off of you. You
> pay in order to protect your credit rating. Learn how you can fight
> back and protect your credit."
> http://www.hospitalvictims.com/
>
>
> TAMPA, FL -- Being rushed to the hospital, or going to the hospital
> for any type of medical procedure can become costly quick.
>
> Sheralee Faith doesn't have medical insurance. She went to a central
> Florida hospital emergency room after she bumped heads with her
> Labrador and got a bloody nose.
>
> "He said ok go home and take a Tylenol and you'll be fine," Faith
> says. The bill for that trip to the ER amounted to $1,300.
>
> "Patients are just shocked by the cost of their care," says medical
> bill negotiator Dr. Jasper Becker.
>
> Faith says she really didn't understand some of the charges on her
> bill, so she called Becker, with Medical Bill Advocates of America.
>
> "I can often convince the billing dept that they have made an error
> in the billing," Becker says. It�s his job to negotiate down your bill
> by looking for errors like double charging, over charging, or charging
> patients for treatments hey never received.
>
> "It was a level four ER visit which later I found out was a facial
> contusion, a very serious condition. Later I also found out I was
> charged for an IV which I did not receive and an X-ray which I did not
> receive," Faith says.
>
> In the end, Becker worked down Faith�s bill to just $100 dollars. He
> says he's saved patients thousands of dollars, working one bill down
> from $40,000 to $4,000.
>
> "I don't think a person should pay any medical bills until they have
> looked them over carefully and if they don't know what something means
> go down and find out what something means,� Becker says.
>
> And, that�s the doctor�s golden rule, never pay for a bill that you
> don�t understand.
> http://www.abcactionnews.com/mostpopular/story/Is-your-hospital-overcharging-you/kxWPb6Hs3EyQkwzSEDso9A.cspx

Hospitals charge as much as they can get away with. There is no way to
check on how accurate their bills are unless you hire a professional.
And they have every incentive to inflate bills: Their executives get
bonuses for increasing their bottom line.
From: Rod Speed on 30 Jan 2010 12:55
Frito Pendejo wrote
> Ann wrote

>> "Suppose you got a bill for $5,000 for service that should have cost $2,000? Stacy Johnson takes a look at what
>> happens with many medical bills.

> The problem is that the consumer has no idea what a medical procedure should cost, so is unable to challenge
> overbilling.

> Unlike other consumer services, hospitals refuse to reveal the cost
> of a given procedure beforehand. If you have no insurance coverage,
> you might get an estimate AFTER you've paid for an examination, but
> this precludes shopping around for the best price.

> Instead of imposing national health care, the government could help
> reduce medical costs by mandating pricing transparency, so that doctors and hospitals would be forced to compete with
> each other for patients.

Cant possibly do anything like as much prices wise.

You wont even get universal agreement on what treatment is
needed, just like you dont with a car that needs repairs either.


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Prev: Shrimp's Dirty Secrets: Why America's Favorite Seafood Is a Healthand Environmental Nightmare
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